Stand
by CJS-DEPPendent
Summary: Lisa Cuddy had always dreamt of the perfect husband, two kids, a great job and a secure future. And she'd found it. But what seemed perfect takes an ugly turn and she finds herself having to turn to the one man she'd wanted to forget. HUDDY
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Hello, all! So, here's my new fic (as I told those of you reading 'foetus' it would be). So, this story is frankly more 'heavy' than any I've ever written, but it just sort of popped into my head and, in two days I wrote 10 000 words for it … so I figured I might as well start posting it._

_I hope you like it! Reviews, as always, are very welcome, but if you're just reviewing to flame, don't bother. _

_Also, the title comes from the Rascal Flats song 'Stand', just because the lyrics make sense with the story so, if you want to know what the story will be about, go ahead and listen to it. But, don't worry, this will not be a 'song fic', as far as I have planned, the title is as much a reference to the song as I'm going to make although, that might change at some point._

_Oh, and the rating on this, as with all my fics, is going to be a 'T' because, really, if we consider the kind of stories some of the 13/14/15 year olds on here are reading (and writing, for that matter), I don't think this deserves and 'M'. Anyway, I'm putting the warning on here that this has 'serious' and 'violent' parts in it and may not be suitable for those who don't like that sort of thing. I warn you, this will not be a fluff-fest, but it will have some happy parts and will be Huddy in the end (as always :D). If you really think this should be moved up to an 'M', feel free to PM me at any point and I'll change it._

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

_**STAND**_

prologue

At her wedding, on that damned day, he had arrived late. Some would say on purpose, some would blame it on the aura of chaos and disorganisation that surrounded him, but either way, whatever the reason, he had. And if you asked him, he'd gladly tell you that it had been on purpose.

Because, that way he ensured that she'd have to meet his eye at least one more time before saying those two words. She'd have to look into his eyes again and think about it all again. What had happened between them, two nights after she'd accepted her soon-to-be-husband's proposal, what had been said while all inhibitions were down and alcohol was fuelling their actions.

And she _had_ met his eye, she had, as all heads turned towards the scruffy, dishevelled doctor with the three-day beard and bags under his eyes, turned to him, her hand clasped firmly by her fiancé. And the look in her eyes had been sadness. At least, he knew it was.

After that, he went pretty much unnoticed, except by Wilson, the best man. The oncologist had been the one to introduce the couple, his old high-school friend and his boss. That apparently was enough to earn him a place next to the 'happy' couple at the altar. And there he stood, in his place, dutifully smiling, yet, House knew, his best friend was keeping an eye on him.

She knew how he felt, he'd told her that night, and she'd told him. But in the morning, she'd just up and left. Like nothing had happened. After that, for the three months preceding this day, she had known, but she'd ignored it. It was typical of her, actually, safety over adventure, security over danger, want over desire, like over love.

And so the 'I do's' were said and they walked down the isle, congratulations flying at them from all sides, except from that last seat by the door. From there, they only got a look, a look that warned them that they were making the biggest mistake of their lives. Rather, that _she_ was making the biggest mistake of her life.

But still, from that day on, his college love and future boss, Lisa Cuddy, became Lisa Chambers, the wife of a millionaire businessman who kept money coming to the hospital and provided her with all the safety and security she'd ever dreamed of.

**TBC**

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_Yes, it's short, but I already have chapters 1, 2, 3 and possibly even 4 lined up for you guys, so tell me if you want it and you may get a new one as soon as this afternoon :D_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__As requested, here is the first chapter. I hope you like it and thank you all for your lovely reviews, please keep them up :D_

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

Today, 12 years later, House sat in his office. Nothing much had changed for him in those years. Well, he was still a diagnostician, he still hated everyone, still made everyone's life a living hell, and he still saved lives.

But there was _one_ thing that had changed. The _one_ thing about him that kept a link between the two of them. His leg. When he realised what he had, he'd asked Stacy to call her. To tell her he needed help. Because, no matter what, he still respected her and he knew she'd hear him, she'd do the right thing and save him.

And she had; sort of. He knew, deep down that she'd saved him, that she was responsible for his being alive and walking. But, after Stacy left and he was alone again, he closed in. He locked everyone out. He'd been hurt. Too often, by people who mattered too much. First, it was Lisa, and she knew it. Then it was Stacy, he thought she'd be different, he never hesitated to tell her he loved her, he never hesitated to let her know what he was thinking. And yet, that wasn't enough to keep her at his side.

So, maybe, things _had_ changed. He was still and ass, he was still a doctor, but he was now in constant pain, he was alone, he was miserable, and he had no intentions of changing that. He'd just given up. Because he knew she'd never leave the three most important people in her life for him and his misery.

And yes. Cuddy, and he called her by her maiden name on purpose, had had two kids. With John Chambers. Her husband.

Daniel, who, at the age of eleven, was already as smart as his mother and five year old Rebecca who, in every way, was a mini-Lisa. Both, surprisingly (and thankfully, if you were House) looked more like their mother than father. Blue-grey eyes, dark brown hair, chiselled features, and an angry look that, if looks could kill, would certainly have led to a few deaths.

Wilson, his best friend (and the bastard who had set Lisa up with John), had also gotten married. Three times to be exact. And, if House's calculations were anything to go by, and they usually were, the third divorce was just about due.

House's team had changed, for the first time, in the last month and, although the Australian internist, the grumpy neurologist and the overly-caring immunologist were overly qualified, he still didn't feel confident to let them anywhere near his cases.

Seeing as he wasn't allowed to take any cases without a team to work with on them, he simply didn't take cases.

That was probably why he was there, in the clinic, his least favourite place on earth, looking through the double doors to her office. Watching her apply makeup.

Slowly, carefully, maybe even … painfully?

Leaning forwards onto the nurses' desk, House watched more intently and as the good diagnostician he was, he began to piece the symptoms together: strange transition to trousers about two years ago, an increase in makeup use dating back to, more or less, the same time as the trousers, avoidance of bright lights, growth of bangs, and now the painful look on her face as she dabbed the eye shadow on as slowly as she possibly could …

'_No_' thought House straightening a little, hoping to the God he didn't believe in that he was wrong.

Suddenly, the opening of the clinic doors caught his attention and broke his focus.

John Chambers; just the man House had been thinking about. Tall, muscular, white, pearly smile, well dressed, shinny black hair, clean shaven, basically, nothing short of an Abercrombie and Fitch model.

* * *

In her office, Lisa spotted House standing at the nurses' station, an unlikely spot for the man, to say the least. He was watching something. As the pain seared through her skull, she saw the doors to her office open and her husband walk in.

"You're early" she said in the most casual tone she possessed, the one she had learnt to use in situations like this, mornings-after like this.

"Got out of the office early" he replied with a smile as he dropped onto her couch, picking up a magazine from her coffee table as he went.

"I still have work to do" she replied putting her make up away and picking up her pen

"Really? Seemed pretty relaxed when I walked in" he replied, that sarcastic, condescending tone she'd grown so accustomed to surrounding his every word.

"John" she sighed, not wanting to get into another fight, especially not there.

Especially not when …

"House!" she yelled as he walked in the door without so much as a knock.

"Oh, hi Johnny" said House with what he forced to be a friendly smile as he spotted John, laying back on Lisa's couch, the couch where ...

"Greg" smiled John, as he shook the diagnostician's hand, a hint of sarcasm more than evident in his forced cordiality "How's it going?"

Now, it wasn't that John liked House, in fact, he only barely tolerated the man. But he knew how much the diagnostician desired his wife, and he had always _loved_ to flaunt his winnings in front of those too weak to earn them.

"Great, John, just great" said House staring the man in the eyes, his anger at the idiotic smile and prince-charming demeanour increasing by the minute "you?"

"Just dandy, Greg" John smiled back.

"Did you barge in here for a particular reason, or …" began Lisa

"Nah, just wondering if you ever intend to give me an interesting case" replied House letting go of John's hand and taking the chance to step forwards and, inconspicuously, examine Lisa's face.

"You have, oh, I don't know, 15? 16? Folders on your desk, all of which I _hand picked_ for you and your _new_ team" said Lisa leaning back in her chair, starting to feel uncomfortable and House's gaze on her face "I suggest you read through them, choose one, and get to work …"

"Don't like them" said House turning back towards the door having gotten what he wanted.

"Tough" Lisa replied to his back as he exited the room.

"Why haven't you fired that guy, again?" asked John from his re-clamed position on her couch.

"He's a …"

"Great doctor, brings in money, good reputation …" John finished the familiar sentence for her in a bored voice "Yea, I know, he's also your biggest liability, the doctor with the most lawsuits filed against him, out of control, contemptuous of authority …"

"John, we've gone over this …" sighed Lisa signing a paper and pushing it onto the growing pile.

"And you still refuse to listen!"

"And I will continue to. I don't tell you how to run your business, you don't tell me how to run my hospital" Lisa replied looking up from her work almost-angrily.

"You know what, fine" said John putting his magazine down and standing "I'll see you at home".

Knowing that him leaving there now meant everything but him going straight home, Lisa merely nodded and began to prepare herself for a repeat of the previous night.

**TBC**

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* * *

**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	3. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Thank you all for your lovely reviews! :D With two weeks until the next episode, I figured more fanfic would have to be written, so here's chapter 2 for you, I hope you like it, and please keep the feedback coming xxx_

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

"Wilson!" called House as he knocked on his friend's locked office door "Wilson! I know you're in there … Stop rolling tok … finally" he added when the door opened.

"What do you want?" asked Wilson who look like he'd just been pulled out of bed in the middle of the night, which, in a way, he had; except it wasn't the middle of the night and it hadn't been a bed he's been sleeping on.

Pushing past him and turning on the lights, House took a seat at the oncologist's desk and waited for him to join him. Sighing and shaking his head, Wilson closed the door and sat opposite House in the patients' seat.

"What do you want?" he asked again brushing a hand through his hair.

"So, divorce number three on its way?" asked House sarcastically as he looked around Wilson's office-turned-bedroom.

"I don't wanna talk about it" replied Wilson waving a hand in front of his face as if to make the thoughts go away.

"Fine" said House leaning back, pondering exactly how to break what he'd found to Wilson.

"You're here, because …" Wilson led him in

"Actually, er … Ok. You know John?" asked House

"John, your father?" asked Wilson unsure as to where this was going

"No, the other asshole we both know called John"

"Oh" replied Wilson, knowing, now, that House was referring to his friend "yes, I do know him, went to high school with him, actually"

"Yea well … you know his wife?"

"Uh, that would be Mrs. Chambers, right? You went to college with her? She's our boss?" Wilson asked sarcastically

"_Cuddy_, yea" replied House "Well …"

Now finally out of his sleepy haze, Wilson realised that the look on his friend's face wasn't mocking, or sarcastic. He wasn't there to gossip about the man they both knew he hated, or to invent some sordid story about Lisa's sex life. Whatever it was, it was really bothering him.

"What is it?" asked Wilson sitting up a little straighter.

"Look, I know the guy's your friend and all that, ok?" started House. Well this was going to be good. "But, I saw Cuddy today, in her office. She was applying make up, very carefully, she looked like she was in pain. When he walked in, she looked only marginally happier than she does when I decide to open a patient's head up to investigate a swollen leg … I think …"

"Where are you going with this, House?" asked Wilson

"Well … You've seen the signs too, long trousers more than half the time, excessive make up, she avoids bright lights, she's grown her hair so it covers her face …"

"No" said Wilson shaking his head, not wanting to hear any more of this "You've always had something against John, ever since I introduced them to each other. This isn't new. But to accuse him of … Whatever it is you have against the guy, House. I know him, he would never …"

"Wilson, you know I'm ri …"

"So she wears trousers … the woman is married and has two kids, House, its normal she'd lose the short power skirts! She changed he hairstyle, big deal. You're reading way too much into this, House …" said Wilson waving his hands in opposite directions in front of his face as if to say 'case closed'.

"You trust his friendship so much that you won't even _think_ to find out if I might, possibly be right?" asked House

"House! You're fishing, after 12 years, you haven't found anything wrong with him, you haven't been able to pull them apart. Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, she's happy with him? Why can't you just accept that?" asked Wilson, knowing perfectly why but refusing to be the one to say it "Where are you going?" he asked House when he stood up and headed for the door.

Without responding, House opened the door and left.

* * *

Sitting on his bike in front of the Chambers' home, House saw a car swerve into the driveway and watched as John stumbled from the vehicle into the door, struggled to put the key in its hole and, finally, staggered into his home where Daniel and Rebecca were watching TV.

As he saw the headlights of Lisa's car at the top of the street, he turned the bike back on and, as the sounds of yelling penetrated the air, he sped past car.

* * *

"You coming to bed?" John asked her as he stood with a yawn.

"In a bit" she replied from her corner on the couch where she was reading "I just want to finish the chapter"

Standing behind the couch, John looked down at his wife and decided that 'in a bit' would have to be now. Reaching over her shoulder and closing the book as she prepared to turn the page, he spoke "Oh, look" he smiled at her, the smell of alcohol radiating from his breath making her hold her breath and turn the other way "see you inside" he added, turning her head towards his with a firm hand on her chin before planting a firm kiss on her lips.

Once he was gone and the sound of water running came from the master bedroom, Lisa leaned her head back on the soft material of the couch and sighed.

Her life was definitely a far cry from what she had envisioned on that day 12 years earlier. Had she really chosen this over …

She shook her head again. It was done. She had two gorgeous kids and John was their father. She remembered what it was like growing up seeing her father only in the mornings for five minutes and every other day when he arrived in time for dinner. She didn't want them to live like that. A bad father was better than no father. At least, that was the way she figured it.

"Lisa!" he called her from the bedroom.

Letting her head fall forwards, Lisa put her book down on the coffee table and turned the lights off as she went.

"Hurry up" he said from his spot on the bed, a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he sat against the headboard, the light on his nightstand illuminating only one side of his face.

Nodding more to herself than anything else, Lisa moved into the bedroom and closed the door. Slowly, she went through the normal motions. Brushing her teeth, her hair, removing make up, face cream …

"Lisa!"

Turning off the water and looking at her reflection for a few seconds, Lisa shook her head again and decided to leave before he decided to come and get her himself.

Without a word, she climbed into bed and, with a quick 'goodnight', turned off the light on her side of the bed.

With a soft chuckle to himself, the kind Lisa knew meant nothing good, John stubbed his cigarette into the ashtray beside him and, turning of his light, sank down into the bed.

"John, come on" Lisa sighed turning to face the bathroom door rather than him.

"Lisa" he whispered.

She shivered.

"John, really, I don't fell too good …"

"I'll make you feel _all_ better" he whispered again, this time wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into him.

"John …" she tried again, but he obviously wasn't going to be dissuaded and, unwilling to have a repeat of the previous night, unwilling to wake up with bruises all over her again, Lisa stopped fighting him and, shutting her mind off, let him do whatever he wanted.

**TBC**

* * *

_Sad and heavy? Yea, but while Newton decided that what goes up must come down, I figure that, in the realm of fanfiction, what goes down must come up … ;)_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__I'd like to thank you all for your lovely reviews and tell you how happy I am to see some of the people who are reading and reviewing "foetus" reading and reviewing this one too! It means a lot to know people like my work and not just one story XD So yea, special thanks to you guys :)_

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

In his room two doors down, Daniel chambers hid his face into the pillow. As soon as he'd heard his father telling her to hurry up, he'd known it would be another of those nights.

Now, Daniel may have been an 11 year old boy, but he knew things many 16 year olds barely dreamed of. He'd heard and seen things that most adults would cringe at. And he knew what a bad night was like. The previous one had been terrible, this one probably wouldn't. His mother rarely fought him off two night in a row.

And as much as Daniel hated the situation, he did understand her. There was no point. He was bigger and stronger and, whether she fought him or not, he'd end up having his way. So why fight?

Closing his eyes and placing the pillow over his head, Daniel concentrated on falling asleep. He thought of school and his new science project, of his favourite TV shows and the new video game his Uncle James had promised him. And, strangely it was thinking of James Wilson and that other doctor his mother worked with but who refused to be called 'uncle' that the boy fell asleep, finally drowning out the sounds of another 'bad night'.

* * *

The next morning, House sat in his office, at an hour that, firstly he didn't know existed and, secondly, no one would believe he'd be up at, pondering what to do.

And that was how he decided.

If Wilson wasn't going to believe and help him, then, he'd have to take matters into his own hands. He'd always known that John was a piece of work, he'd always smelt something fishy about the guy, and now he knew. And he wouldn't just let it go. He couldn't

"Hello?" House spoke into the phone the next morning in his office.

"_Hello?_"

"Do you have a student by the name of Rebecca Elisa Chambers?" he asked into the phone, his voice slightly masked by the accent he was attempting to put on.

"_Who is this?_" came a voice from the other end.

"She's being abused"

"Who_ are you? Hello?_"

"If you don't believe me, check for yourselves, it should be pretty obvious … bruises, cuts, anything …"

"_Hello? Who are you? What do you want?_"

But House had already clicked off.

* * *

When Mrs. Taylor, the school headmistress, put the phone down, she simply sat there, staring at it. _Who_ was that man, what did he want? Should she be worried? Call the police, check for herself? What?

Picking up the phone and dialling the necessary extension, she made up her mind.

* * *

"Excuse me, Ann?" came a voice from the doorway

"Oh, Jen, come in" she smiled at the second grade teacher

"You said it was urgent?"

"Yes, well. I don't quite know how to say this but, er, I received a phone call this morning, from an anonymous male, uh, regarding one of your students, a Miss. Rebecca Chambers?"

"Becca, yes, lovely girl, what'd he say?" asked the young woman slightly preoccupied.

"Well, he seemed to be under the impression that the girl is being, in some way, abused …" Ann paused "well, I didn't want to jump to precipitated conclusions and call the police, but I do think it's worth a check, don't you?"

"Well, yes, of course!" replied Jen "Although, I must say, she's such a well adjusted, happy girl, I don't quite see how …"

"Sometimes it's the ones we least expect, Jennifer …" sighed Mrs. Taylor.

"Alright, I'll take her to the nurse's office right away"

"Oh and, Jen" added the headmistress as the young teacher prepared to exit the office "until we know something, this stays between us and the nurse, let's not forget the girl has an older brother here …"

Nodding, the teacher left and Ann returned to her ponderings.

* * *

"What's going on here?" asked Lisa entering the clinic where a child's cries, loud male voices and angry female voices could be heard.

"The police just brought in a little girl, beating, apparently" explained one of the younger nurses who was just rushing past Lisa on her way to the lab.

"Thank you" she nodded

Lisa headed towards the policeman standing just inside the clinic "Excuse me, what exactly is going on here?"

"And you would be?" he asked looking down at her from his much taller frame

"Dr. Lisa Chambers, Dean of Medicine" she replied not liking something in the man's tone "you can't just walk in here and …"

"Chambers, did you say?" he asked looking at a file in his hand.

"Yes, why?"

But before Lisa could get a reply, House and Wilson's passed right by them and headed towards the cop standing by the door to exam room 3.

"Drs House and Wilson?" asked the cop looking at the two men, particularly the one lacking a white coat, a shave and a good night's sleep.

"Yes, you had us paged?" asked Wilson checking his pager to confirm just as House pushed in front of him.

"She in there?" asked House nodding towards the door

"Yes, sir. We're still waiting for the parents but, in this kind of case, we usually allow the doctors to do their part before letting the parents in, you know, because of possible involvement, you understand"

Nodding, House pushed past him into the room just as Wilson began to ask what was going on.

* * *

"I want my mom!" cried Rebecca as the nurse tried to get her to hold still while a female cop tried to photograph her back.

"When we're done here, we'll get your mommy, dear" soothed the nurse as Rebecca cried more.

"Becca?!" asked Wilson turning to House "What's going on?"

"Remember what I told you last night?" asked House putting some gloves on and heading towards the little girl "seems I wasn't as off track as you thought"

"House, you had her brought here on the _suspicion_ that …"

"Does _that_" House pointed to the girls back where large bruises and a cut could be seen "look like a _suspicion_ to you, Dr. Wilson?"

"Oh my …" Wilson found himself speechless.

"House!" cried the girl overjoyed at spotting someone she knew "Uncle James"

"Hey, Becca" said Wilson walking towards her with a friendly smile "it's ok, I've got her" he added to the nurse

"Becca" called the female cop "Becca, I need to ask you a few questions, ok?"

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope you liked that, I think we're starting to get more into the action of the story now, so I hope you like this and stay with me to see where it goes … Well, I already know here it goes ; )_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	5. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Well, here's another chapter and, with it, another huge thank you for you reviews, really guys, considering the amount of studying I've been doing and the three weeks of exams I have ahead of me, you're really giving me something to smile about. :D_

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

"What are Drs. House and Wilson doing in there?" asked Lisa looking towards the door

"Mrs. Chambers, if you'll come with me, please" said the Cop holding her arm and pulling her out of the clinic.

"It's _Dr_ Chambers, and no, I will not go with you until you tell me what's going on in _my_ clinic!"

"_Dr_. Chambers, if you accompany me, I will explain everything to you"

Uneasily, Lisa agreed to follow the man towards her office.

* * *

"Becca, I know this is real scary, but you have to answer some questions for the nice lady, ok?" asked Wilson rubbing the girls arm as she clung to him, the one person in the room she knew well enough to trust completely.

That wasn't to say she didn't know House. She most certainly did, after all, he was the only doctor who seemed to allow her into any of the special areas of the Hospital which her mother said were dangerous, and he was funny. But House was a friend, someone to play with. To her, Wilson was the adult, the one she could count on, like a father. Or, not.

"Look, this isn't going anywhere" said House looking up at the woman "do you think we could talk to her for a bit _without_ your authoritarian shadow hanging over the place?" he asked sarcastically "the kid is obviously scared, you're not going to get anything out of her like this …"

"I have orders not to leave her alone with any men" she replied

"Firstly, what kind of sexist world is this we live in where you _automatically_ assume it was a man who did this to her? Secondly, that is a _very_ wise call, because, _obviously_" he motioned to Wilson rocking the crying child on his lap "she's _really_ warmed up to you females and, thirdly, if you have to, you can leave nurse, uh"

"Kitts" the young nurse replied

House nodded "Nurse Kitts in here with us"

Looking from each man to the nurse in the corner, Officer Hall reluctantly nodded and, picking up her case and camera, left the room.

* * *

"She's what?!" exclaimed Lisa standing up "I demand to see her" When the cop merely sat there looking at her, Lisa added "_now!_"

"I'm afraid, in this sort of case, we cannot allow the parents to have contact with the child. Unfortunately, it is quite common for the aggressor to be a close relation, so we cannot take any chances. We have contacted the two emergency contacts on her form, Drs. Gregory House and James Wilson. They are with her now and, once all the necessary evidence has been collected, social services will decide whether or not to keep her for a while."

Suddenly, Lisa was very thankful she'd put those two names down. She knew Wilson would jump to conclusions, but House would tell him the girl had probably just fallen over. Yes, House would keep the situation under control and, by the end of the day, Becca would be back home.

But the thought of _her_ ever hurting her daughter was something Lisa would not let pass.

"You … you think _I_ would _ever_ hurt my daughter?" yelled Lisa "Who the _hell_ are _you_ to judge me? To _accuse_ me …" as tears began streaming down her face, Lisa fell back onto the couch.

* * *

"I want my mom!" said Becca as House tried to get the necessary information out of her again.

"Becca, mommy's right out there, ok?" asked Wilson glaring at House for his less than tactful ways "but before you can see her, you have to answer some questions for us, alright?"

Rebecca merely shook her head further into Wilson's chest

"Becca, I know you want to see Cuddy, I know you want _all_ this to be over, but you have to answer us!" said House, his patience slowly slipping "who hurt you, Becca?"

Over the years, House had gotten to know both Daniel and Rebecca. To he honest, he much preferred Daniel because the boy was, much like him, intelligent, academically driven, good at sports but pretty much indifferent to them, and closed off from other people. But he had always gotten along well enough with Becca and truth be told, he did like the girl. He just didn't have much patience for childish tantrums when Cuddy's safety lay in the balance.

"I want my mom!"

"Look, Becca, that lady out there" House pointed at the door "will not let you see Cuddy until you answer a few questions, ok?"

Becca merely shook her head. Boy, was she as stubborn as her mother.

"Becca, please" said Wilson, glancing at House momentarily, visibly troubled by the thought that he might have been the one to introduce the person who was hurting his little niece to her mother "please just tell us who hurt you …"

"I … I just got hurt at school …" sobbed Becca, pulling out of her memory the lie he'd told her to tell "I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want mommy to get angry because I was climbing trees"

Looking at Wilson, House didn't buy it for a minute but before he had a chance to press on, a very exalted voice penetrated through the door.

* * *

"I get called by the school because my daughter has been brought to the hospital" John shouted at the female officer at the door "and then I get here, and find that she's been hit by someone? And you won't let me see her?"

"Mr. Chambers, please understand, it's protocol and …" but she was cut off

"Screw protocol!" He took another step towards her "That's my baby in there, and I want to see her, so you'd better move"

Not liking the closed distance between herself and the taller man, officer Hall cleared her throat and placed a firm hand on his chest, pushing him away "if you do not calm down and take a step back, I'll have you arrested, sir"

Taking a deep breath, John nodded, unwilling too make the already bad situation become worse "I'm sorry" he spoke with his best persuasive smile "but you have to understand, that is my little girl, I can here her crying …"

"Her emergency contacts are in with her, sir. So you can relax, she isn't alone"

"Dr. Wilson?" asked John

"yes and a …" she checked her file "Dr. House"

Keeping his face in check, John felt his anger boil up again "very well then, do you know where my wife is?"

"I believe she and officer Sanchez are in her office" replied the woman nodding towards the door.

Without another word but with one last look at the door in front of him, John turned on his heels and headed into the office.

* * *

"Excuse me?" called Officer Hall as she re-entered the exam room "but I need to get some pictures and a statement"

"The little girl says she just fell off a tree …" spoke nurse Kitts earning a glare from House.

"Sweaty?" the policewoman asked her "how did you get hurt?"

"I told Uncle Jim" she spoke wiping her tears with the back of her hand "I was playing hide and seek at school. I hid in a tree because Kyle already knew all the good hiding places, and fell"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" the cop asked looking up at the two doctors to read their reactions

"I didn't want mommy to get mad …"

As the pressure of the lie and the situation got to her, Becca started to sob again.

"I'm afraid, without a statement, we won't be able to do anything …" sighed Officer Hall standing "Becca, are you _sure_ that's the truth?"

Clinging to Wilson again, the little girl just nodded into his chest.

"I'm really sorry doctors. But there really isn't anything I can do here …" she shook head

With that, and a sympathetic look at the little girl, she was gone.

"Maybe you two should leave so I can get her redressed?" asked nurse Kitts taking a step forwards.

Without replying, House got up and made his way to the door. Sighing, and putting Becca back on the exam table, Wilson followed him.

**TBC**

* * *

_Well, to those of you thinking "oh no" … well … yea … did you REALLY think it was going to be _that_ easy? *sakes head and smiles*_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	6. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Ok so, one week to go to exams, still a whole load of stuff to revise, but here I am, with a new chapter for you all :D  
Once, AGAIN, than you all for your reviews, they really help me get through the pain that is studying, and also, well, I like this one :P_

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

"You know as well as I do that that story is bullshit!" House said to his friend once they were outside the door "you saw those bruises. If she'd fallen off a tree and gotten bruises and cuts like _that_, she'd probably have snapped her spine …"

"House, I hear you, and you're right" said Wilson "But you don't know who did that to her"

"Oh, please!" yelled House "you're still going to believe him? After that? What? You think I can be right about the first part but completely wrong about the other?"

"House, I'm just saying that you're right, and as her friends, we have to keep and eye on Lisa. But we can't do anything else"

"The hell we can't!"

"House! What are you going to do?" asked Wilson as his friend stared through the glass doors to Lisa's office where John had, quite obviously, taken over the conversation with Officer Sanchez and was, most probably, with a lot of head-shaking, swearing he knew nothing of what had happened to his daughter "look at him. Even if you're right, you can't just walk in there and start a fight"

"Lisa's your friend too, Wilson …" House shook his head

"Look, I know you …" Wilson stopped himself, no point getting into all _that_ right then "just, trust me, ok? Tomorrow we'll talk to her ourselves"

"House!"

Turning around, House spotted Daniel, his aunt, Lisa's sister, behind him.

"Why are you here?" asked Wilson

"Where's my sister?!" asked the boy looking around

"She's in there" House pointed to the exam room with his cane "she'll be out in a sec, they're just re-dressing her"

"Fine" Daniel turned back to House "where's my mom?"

"She's in her office, Danny, but she's talking to a policeman now, you'd better wait" replied Wilson

"He's out" said Daniel as he saw Officer Sanchez leave and started running around the nurses' station towards his mother's office.

* * *

"You little …" began John taking a step towards Lisa as soon as the coast was clear. But he stopped in his tracks as his sons' voice caught his attention "don't think I'm going to forget this …"

"Mom!" the boy called as he saw his mother.

Flying into the room, he lunged at her and hugged her.

"Is it … did you … ?" but before he could ask his mother if she'd finally gotten rid of his biological excuse for a dad, the man's voice stopped him.

"God afternoon, Daniel" smiled John holding his arms out for his son to hug him too.

"Oh, hi dad" the boy smiled weakly giving his father a quick hug and retreating back to his mother's side.

"Dr. Chambers?" nurse Kitts called from the door

"Yes?"

As she looked up, Lisa barely had time to react before her five year old daughter dropped the nurse's hand and flung herself at her mother, hugging her as tightly as she could.

Leaning down, Lisa stroked her daughter's hair and closed her eyes into her shoulder.

"Well, seeing as we're all here" began John as he flashed the nurse a smile "what'd you say we go home?"

Taking Rebecca's nod into her mother's shoulder as an agreement, John moved out of the room, reluctantly followed by Daniel and, a few seconds later, by Lisa holding a crying Rebecca.

* * *

"James, Greg" smiled John as he passed the two doctors by the nurses' station "thank you so much for your help" he extended his hand and Wilson, with a forced smile, took it. House, on the other hand, merely looked towards the two kids and woman walking behind him.

Deciding that getting into a fight with Greg wouldn't be the best course of action, John ignored the diagnostician's blatant disrespect and proceeded on his way out of the clinic.

"Hey, Daniel?" called House as the kid passed by him, his father already out of the clinic and ear shot.

Extending his hand, House waited for the boy to take the piece of paper he was holding there.

Confused, Daniel placed the post-it in his pocket and looked up at House. When all he got was a nod, Daniel looked quickly to Wilson and followed after his father before the man came back to get him.

Carrying Rebecca, Lisa too stopped by House and Wilson. But only momentarily, and only to give them a look which was somewhere between thankful, scared, and warning.

* * *

That night, sitting on his couch, a half-empty bottle of scotch adorning the coffee table in front of him, House popped two Vicodin into his mouth and washed them down with two large gulps of his favourite amber liquid.

Wilson was right, he couldn't just go over to Cuddy's and beat the bastard's skull in, no matter how much he might want to. John was not only bigger and stronger than him, but he also had two fully functioning legs. He wouldn't stand a chance.

But still, the thought that, at that very moment, she might be in pain, that he might be lashing out onto her, onto Becca; it made his blood boil.

He knew she wasn't his to protect, and yet, the same feelings that had dragged him to her wedding, the same feelings that had made him call her when he was in pain, they were urging him forward, demanding he do something.

* * *

"You bitch!" and another hit.

Lisa wasn't quite sure how she'd ended up like this. One minute they'd been perfectly happy and then, out of no where, after a couple of bad business calls and a growing addiction to expensive scotches, everything had gone down hill.

She had always told herself that she wouldn't end up like that, that she wouldn't tolerate that from a man. But she couldn't do it to her kids. She couldn't leave them father-less when she spent most of her time at the hospital and the rest frantically trying to do everything else in her life. They needed someone else around.

And so she just stood there, her back against the wall, her hand on her cheek, blood flowing through her fingers and onto the expensive carpet below.

"You told him didn't you?" he asked again, pushing her shoulders back onto the wall so she had no choice but to look at him "you told that crippled jack ass, didn't you?"

"N – No … I"

And again, this time her head banged against the wall, the hollow, cracking sound of it causing young Daniel, who was hiding by the door, to drop his head and close his fists.

His little sister was crying in her room, curled up into a little ball, her shoulder probably dislocated, his mother was struggling to keep her balance as she served, again, as his father's own personal punching bag.

He knew it had gone far enough.

Pulling the little slip of paper Dr. House had given him, Daniel made a run for the phone and dialled.

**TBC**

* * *

_I don't even think I need to question you all about your excited-ness towards the new promo … right?_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	7. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **Hi all! So, after writing 10 exams in 4 days (still with 5 more to go), I needed a distraction and thus, I give you, Chapter 6! :D_

_Now, I should probably warn you that this chapter might be a 'little' violent. I don't think it's anything that warrants a higher rating. But if you think so, please tell me and I'll change it._

_Thank you all for your reviews, seriously, I can't begin to describe how great it feels to have two stories which are, simultaneously, getting excellent reviews :D _

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

For the past hours, House had been lying on his couch, music drifting into the room through his CD player, a bottle of scotch happily adorning his coffee table. He hadn't had nearly enough to drink to ease his mind about what was, quite probably, going on across town at the Cambers' residence. And, considering what was about to happen, that was probably a good thing.

"Yea?" answered House as he held the phone to his ear.

"_House?_"

"Daniel? What's wrong?" asked House sitting up on the couch, his mind immediately running the every worst case scenario imaginable.

"_It's, er, dad … he's …_"

But Daniel didn't have to finish his sentence, the sound of something hitting the floor with a loud 'thud' and the boy's name being shouted told House all he needed to know.

"I'll be right there"

And with that, he was gone. In a surprisingly swift move, he grabbed his keys from the table beside the couch, his cane from the floor and sprang for the door.

* * *

Rising from his sleep in his office, Wilson looked at his cell phone, which was now mercilessly vibrating on his desk. Shaking his head and getting up, he checked the screen.

_You have one new message._

Great. He yawned and passed a hand through his messed up hair as he waited for the message to appear on the screen.

_Meet me at cuddy's. Now._

House?

Oh, no.

Adrenalin surging through him, Wilson thought only of the diagnostician pulp he'd find if he allowed House to go through with this. And, much like House had, sprang for the door, grabbing at his keys and jacket as he went.

* * *

After hiding for 15 minutes under the couch, a spot Daniel knew his father was ignorant about, he sighed in relief at the sound of a motorcycle outside and the hollow sound of wood banging on wood.

Checking that the coast was clear and finding his father, his back to him, in the kitchen, undoubtedly pouring himself another glass of drink, Daniel made a run for the door.

The boy knew the odds of anyone stopping his father were slim. The man was bigger, stronger and more drunk than anyone he knew. But still, he had to try, he had to try and do something for his mom and sister. So, looking around again at his mother who was half leaning half lying against the door and at his father's back which could, very well, turn at any moment, he opened the door.

"Where is he?" asked House as soon as spotted the boy.

"Sh!" urged Daniel looking over his shoulder.

"Daniel! Close that door, now! It's cold!"

Hearing the man's voice, House's hatred surged to a whole new level. At the slurred syllables and the sight of Cuddy on the floor over Daniel's shoulder, he wanted nothing more than to beat John to into the miserable pile of filth that he was.

Limping past the kid and, thankful to also have some alcohol in his system stopping him from waiting for Wilson, House walked into the living room, his eyes fixed on John Chambers as the man turned from his position in the kitchen to face him.

He could hear Becca's sobs coming from somewhere upstairs and Lisa was barely conscious on the floor by the TV.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" John asked taking a drunken step towards the diagnostician.

Standing firm and feeling his head swirl from the stench of alcohol emanating from the larger man, House held his cane tighter.

"I asked you a question!" he took another step closer, this time raising a hand to shove House backwards "are you trying to act tough, cripple? Think that'll finally win Lisa over for you?" he taunted as he shoved him

Hearing her name come out of his mouth after everything he'd done to her, House, in a quick, almost reflexive, movement, raised his cane and hit John right where his face and hairline joined.

As the drunken idiot fell to the floor, unable to keep his balance, blood gushed from a fresh cut somewhere on his scalp.

"Son of a bitch!" he howled as his back hit the floor and House hit him again, this time on the hand he was using to asses the severity of his wound; then again on the face as he removed his hand in pain.

Squirming under the hits, John's mind went to the one weakness he knew the doctor had. Finding the right spot John shoved the heel of his boot into House's thigh.

The pain was searing. He couldn't see, he couldn't breath, he couldn't think. He could barely feel the floor on his back as he hit it.

"Now, let's talk this out" grinned John staggering to his feet, his good hand returning to his head as he checked how much blood he was loosing, his tall figure hovering over House "think you're so brave?"

Unable to speak, House merely tried to move backwards. But his leg wasn't co-operating, his brain could think of nothing else but the pain, and his eyes refused to focus on any one thing as the nausea rose through his body.

"Thought you could just come in here and be the knight in shining armour, did you?" John smirked again kicking House in the face and, picking up his cane. With another smile, he positioned the cane right on the spot he'd kicked moments earlier and leaned on it.

That was how Wilson found them.

When he'd arrived and seen the door open, he'd known he was too late. And when he heard his friend's piercing cries, he'd thanked God he'd called the police on the way.

Just as he was about to lunge towards House and his old high school friend, he spotted his boss lying on the floor, her head moving slightly, blood flowing down her cheek.

Accepting that, even if he tried to help House, all he'd get would be a couple of good swings onto his face, he made a run towards Lisa.

"Lisa …" he whispered, quickly attempting to stabilize her, making sure to keep her neck as straight as possible.

"Greg … ?" her voice was shaky and low, she was obviously in pain

"No, Lisa it's Jame…"

"No you don't!" said John pulling the oncologist away from his wife.

Somehow, in the few moments between Wilson arriving and then, John had staggered towards him and was now, having already neutralized the diagnostician, ready to lash out onto the oncologist.

"Leave him alone!" cried Daniel, fury flowing through him as he clenched his fists and jumped at his father, punching and kicking wherever he could.

"Get off me, Daniel!" he shouted flinging the boy across the room where he hit the wall with a loud crack and fell to the floor clutching his arm.

Just then, the sound of sirens which had been, largely unnoticed, penetrating the air for quite some time became louder and louder and, as John prepared himself to start on Wilson, three men invaded the house through the front door.

"Hands in the air!"

"Gentlemen, there must be some sort of misunderstanding …" smiled John pretending not to understand what was going on and taking a step towards the cops.

"I said, put your hands where I can see them"

"Oh, come on, you can't possibly think that …" he began as he kept moving towards them, his drunken gate making the movement all the more unpredictable.

Just then a shot rang out, the bullet hitting John right in the leg, just above the knee and causing him to fall.

"Son of a …" he cried as he stumbled sideways onto the couch, his leg gushing blood.

In seconds, the cops had him hand-cuffed and sat on the couch as they waited for the four ambulances to arrive.

"Dr. Wilson, are you alright?" asked one of the policemen kneeling next to the doctor as he worked on the wife.

"I'm fine, just a bruise" he replied moving his shoulder in a circular motion to show that he was fine.

"Uncle James?" called Danny who had managed to get up, his arm held tightly to his chest by his free hand.

"yes?"

"I think House is …"

Looking over at his friend, Wilson saw him coughing, vomit covering the floor around his head, blood sputtering out of his mouth, his hand rushing to his thigh as he closed his eyes, tilted his head back and howled in pain.

"I've got her" said the cop, motioning for Wilson to go help House.

"Daniel" called Wilson "go and get your sister, you two are taking the first ambulance, ok?" he asked as he rushed towards House who was squirming in his spot on the floor

"No! Mom is …" Daniel tried to protest, but to no avail

"Danny, please … I don't want you two to have to stay here, ok? Just go and get her …"

Nodding a little reluctantly, Daniel headed up the stairs, wincing as his sprained ankle supported his weight on every other step.

"You idiot!" Wilson whispered to his friend when he finally opened his blue eyes and seed to succeed in focusing on Wilson's face.

"H – How's …" House attempted

"She's stable, the ambulances are their way … he could have _killed_ you!" replied Wilson shaking his head as he started to check House over, keeping his neck and head straight.

**TBC**

* * *

_Ok, so, violent? Yes? But tell me it didn't make you feel a little bit happy that John got what was coming to him …_

_Also … Episode 5x23!!! :D :D … and the promo for 5:24 XD XD XD_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	8. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Hai! So, I have finished my exams (minus one in two weeks time) and have also graduated since the last time I posted (RL has been pretty busy these past few weeks) :D … except for that one little exam in two weeks, I am on holidays and so fully intend to post more often and get these stories going more frequently :D_

_Thank you all for your reviews, and I hope you keep enjoying this as much as I like writing it! :D_

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

Within half an hour, the entire Chambers family, Dr. House and Dr. Wilson were arriving at the Princeton Plainsboro teaching hospital ER.

On the ambulance ride over, Lisa had been swaying somewhere between consciousness and nothingness. She could feel the pain radiating from her face, back, neck, from every part she paused to think about. Once in the hospital, she had been wheeled into the MRI room to ensure her, quite possibly, broken cheek bone wouldn't need surgery and had then been put into one of the hospital's best recovery suites, the gash on her cheek stitched up, an IV pumping her full of pain medication as she drifted in and out of sleep.

The two kids, Daniel and Rebecca, had taken, as Wilson had suggested, the first ambulance and were immediately tended to by the paediatricians in the ER. Rebecca's shoulder had been reset and cast, Daniel's broken wrist and sprained ankle, too, had been fixed and the two had been taken to one of the paediatric rooms while their parents and guardians were tended to.

Wilson had insisted he was absolutely fine and, after a quick check over by Cameron, he'd followed after the kids to ensure they were safe and well.

John Chambers was taken into surgery as soon as he arrived, to remove the bullet fragments from his leg and ensure his femoral artery was intact. Thus far, it appeared that he'd survive, much too everyone's great disappointment.

As for Dr. House, the x-rays had shown a fracture to his cheek bone which the doctors felt would heel itself with enough rest, and the cuts inside his mouth caused by the trapping of his flesh between his teeth and John's shoe had been stitched up. However, the pain shooting up from his leg was still intolerable, even with the slowly dripping IV of morphine. And as he lay in his room waiting for the drugs to kick in, a physiotherapist working on his leg to ensure all movements were still possible and no more damage than that that already existed prior to the attack had occurred, he tried to think of everything, anything that would distract him from the pain. But all he could do was wonder how she was doing, and that did very little to help his leg.

* * *

Two hours later, Daniel and Rebecca had finally managed to convince Wilson to let them see their mother and now they sat in two chairs in Lisa's room, waiting for her to regain consciousness.

In her bed, Lisa, finally able to focus on the room in front of her, spotted her two children and, seeing them talking to each other in hushed voices, smiles playing on their faces, was as thankful as ever to have Greg and James in her life.

Lying there now, she sighed of relief as the realisation hit her. It was over. In the morning, she'd call her lawyer in and file for divorce, suing for full custody. She knew she'd get it. She didn't care about his money and she never wanted to return to that house. All she wanted was her kids and her freedom back, after that, she didn't care if she was living out of hotels for a year.

"Mom" cried Daniel as he saw her open her eyes.

"Hey, son" she smiled weakly as she tried to sit up.

"No, don't" he stopped her "the doctor said you need to rest"

"Mommy?" Rebecca's small voice filled the room as Daniel helped her up onto the bed.

"Hey, sweetie" smiled Lisa touching her daughter's face.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Are you going to … er …"

Smiling again, Lisa nodded "yes, in the morning, I'll call my lawyer and file the papers, ok?"

"I love you!" cried Daniel, the biggest smile she'd ever seen on him covering his face as he hugged her.

"I love you too, mommy" added Becca.

"Oh, I know you do, baby"

"I was coming to check if you were alright, but I see you've made a full recovery" Wilson smiled from the doorway.

"James" sighed Lisa "I can't tell you how much I …"

"You're welcome" he nodded as he walked into the room "but really, it's House you should thank, House and, I'm assuming" he looked at Daniel with a smile "your son"

"Danny?" she asked looking at the boy.

"I called House, mom" he whispered, unsure of whether or not this fact would be received well

"What?"

"Well, today at the hospital, House gave me a paper with his phone number. I didn't know why but then, when … when you were … I just called him …"

"House did what?" Cuddy asked Wilson absolutely astounded.

"Danny, you did good, ok?" said Wilson as the boy continued to look uncertain "do you think you could, er" he looked at Cuddy who nodded "maybe you should take your sister up to the cafeteria for a sandwich, what'd you say?"

Looking questioningly at his mother who, again, just nodded, Daniel helped his sister off the bed and, smiling, led her out of the room.

"I'm assuming you blacked out for quite a while there, are you sure you're ok?" asked Wilson

"I'm fine" she nodded at Wilson's disbelieving face "I'll be fine. But, House?"

"Yea, he came to me last night and told me he thought that … that John" Lisa winced at the name "was well, you know … At first I didn't believe him or, rather, didn't want to believe him … but then, when Becca was brought in today and when he texted me on the way to your place, I knew he was right …"

"What was he thinking?" Lisa asked "he could have been killed!"

"That's what I told him but I guess, men in l …" he stopped himself.

"What?" she asked him, unsure if she'd half-heard him right.

Sighing and hanging his head, Wilson spoke "you know he, well, cares for you, Lisa"

"Wilson" she smiled "that was 12 years ago … it's …"

"Still there" he filled in "you know it is, hell, John knew it was …"

"What?"

"You saw the way they always looked at each other, House never really did anything to John, but he still hated his guts, you think that was just a coincidence?"

"Well, I never thought …"

Wilson just nodded and smiled.

"You know House won't say anything, he won't accept your thanks, or anything. But just … know that he knew what he was risking going into your house tonight, and he did it just the same …"

In silence, Lisa just nodded at him. She wasn't sure what else to do.

Could it be that, after all these years, that he still loved her?

When she'd accepted John's proposal, she'd panicked, because, deep down, she knew she still loved Greg. So she'd gone to him, she'd told him about the engagement and he'd sulked. He'd told her he was happy for her and even offered to take her out to celebrate. But she'd known he was hurt, and the look in his eyes just made her uncertainties grow.

And when he'd told her he loved her, when he'd begged her not to get married, she'd admitted that she loved him too. And they'd slept together, and she'd felt happy. But in the morning, she'd panicked again. Greg wouldn't provide her with what she needed, he wouldn't be the 2.4 kids kind of guy. No. Her only chance at having that life was John, and, somehow hating herself for it, she'd left without a word and, three months later, she was married.

When he'd found Stacey, she'd pushed her own feelings aside and been happy for him. She'd thought they'd each found what they needed and would be able to get over each other.

Apparently, he hadn't forgotten her. When she thought about it, it was pretty obvious. His everlasting hatred of John, his refusal to refer to her as anything other than 'Cuddy' … And she wasn't so sure she'd forgotten him either.

"Well, you need to sleep, so I'll go check on Danny and Becca but, bare in mind what I said …" smiled Wilson as he nodded and moved out of the room.

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope you liked that and, don't worry, it won't all be sunshine and puppies from now on … I promise ; )_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	9. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Ok, so I'm leaving tomorrow to go take my FINAL exam and thought I'd give you something new before I went. I must warn you that I will be leaving on Monday for my end of year trip and will only return on the 17__th__. As I said in the AN on the new Foetus chapter, I hope to get something new in before I go, but I make no promises. I hope you like this, and thank you all SOOO much for your kind reviews. _

_Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

"How's Dr. Cuddy?" House asked as the large man in front of him forced his leg to lift again as he felt the pain, finally start to subside, slightly, but at least it was something

"Who?"

He groaned both from the pain and the name he'd have to use "Dr. _Chambers_"

"Oh, I believe she's doing fine. Well, as 'fine' as one can be considering …"

"Considering that her husband turned out to be a big fucking bastard, yea, I know" replied House, hating the fact that, even through the pain meds, he could still feel the stabbing sensation on his thigh every time _Karl_ moved it.

"Well, you'll be on crutches for a while" said Karl putting House's leg back on the bed "but all the movements are still there. It will probably be more painful than before, but please, try to control your Vicodin intake …"

"Ha" scoffed House tilting his head back as another drop of morphine fell into his IV.

Shaking his head, Karl finished "I'll have a nurse bring in your crutches and, Dr. House, please use both of them"

House was about to argue, but, figuring it would be pointless, he merely nodded and laid his head back on the pillow with a sigh.

Once Karl had left, House was left to his thoughts. He knew his cations had spoken loudly. He knew what Wilson was thinking, what _she_ must be thinking. And _he_ certainly knew what his actions had meant. But he was scared of the enormous change that truth could bring. That wasn't to say he didn't want that change, he really did. But he was really scared of it.

* * *

"Uncle James?" Daniel asked looking up at the oncologist as he sat with them waiting for them to finish their sandwiches.

"Yes?"

"How's House?" he asked as his little sister looked up from her tuna sandwich.

"I'm not sure, Danny" Wilson replied "last time I checked, the doctors were still with him, but I think he'll be fine" he smiled, hoping, since he wasn't interlay sure, that he was right.

"Can we go see him when we're done?" Becca asked him before taking another little bite out of her sandwich

"Um" Wilson thought about it "how about I take you back to your mom's room when I'm done and go check on House?" he asked with a smile "if he's awake, then I'll come and get you" he looked at Danny "is that ok?"

Smiling, the 11 year old nodded.

* * *

"How are you?" Wilson asked from the door way as he spotted House, his hand rubbing his thigh, lying in his bed.

Grimacing, House shook his head and rubbed his thigh a little harder.

"You know it's going to hurt a little more …" Wilson said approaching the bed as his cell started to ring. Sighing, he picked it up.

"Hello? … What? No, look, my friend is … I can't …" he sighed and shook his head pinching the bridge of his nose "you know what, fine. I'll be there"

Happy for a distraction, House spoke "wife?"

"Soon to be ex" sighed Wilson placing his phone back in his pocket "she went back to Denver to stay with her parents …"

"So?" asked House

"Her lawyer is requesting that I go up there to sort out the papers. Apparently she's very, and I quote, emotionally distressed with the whole matter and wishes to be with her family …."

House laughed "Ha! Sure she is, _very _emotionally distressed, that's why she was so friendly with your gardener"

"Handy man" corrected Wilson making House smirk

"Right … 'handy man'"

After a glare from Wilson, House went back to the pain in his leg. He knew he was at the maximum on his pain meds, but the pain was still there, nothing like it would be if he weren't on the meds, but still there.

"You going to be ok?" Wilson asked

House shrugged "_Karl_ says I'll be in more pain then before, but all the movements are still there so whoopee"

Wilson smiled slightly "you knew what you were getting into"

At that, House merely looked up at him and went back to his leg. House knew what Wilson was hinting too, he knew he meant that House had know how much pain he'd be risking and he'd still gone there for her. Buutut he wasn't about to open that whole issue up just yet.

"She's doing well, you know?" when House said nothing, Wilson continued "Look, I know you probably have no desire to talk about it … but she does owe you a lot, you did a good thing House, a little rash, maybe, but good none the less"

Again House, never one to take that kind of compliment, shrugged it off.

"Fine, don't acknowledge it …" Wilson shrugged in return "Danny and Becca wanted to come and see you, is that ok?" he asked

House thought for a minute and nodded, he might as well get the thank you's over and done with now.

A few minutes later, Wilson returned with the two kids in tow. Immediately, Becca ran up to House's bed and, peering as best she could over the side spoke "Dr. House? Are you going to be alright?"

Sighing, House gave a short nod "yea, kid, I'll be just fine" and forced out the nicest smile he could in the pain he was in.

Standing beside Wilson on the other side of the bed, Danny just looked at his feet.

"Thank you" he said before looking up at House with those eyes that looked so much like Lisa's. He wasn't very good at opening up to people, no surprise really, considering how his father, who he was supposed to trust, had treated him, and House, who was also incapable of opening up, saw in his eyes that that 'than you' meant more than the two words could express.

Nodding, House replied "you're welcome" just as his leg began to ache again and his hand shot to his thigh, his eyes closing and his head tilting back into the pillow before it all waned again and he managed to focus on the room.

The look he gave Wilson told the oncologist all he needed to know.

"Ok, well, we'll see you later, ok?" said Wilson understanding that House just wanted to be left alone.

After a short nod from House, Wilson left with the two kids.

"Good bye, Dr. House" smiled Becca as she followed out after Wilson and her brother "get well soon"

* * *

"Why don't you two go into the room, I just have to get this" Wilson said to Danny and Rebecca as he picked up his cell.

"Yes?! … look, can it wait a few more days? … I've told you, things are … no, of course you don't care … fine! Fine … I'll be there on Friday, is that ok?! … alright, bye!"

Closing his phone and shoving it back into his pocket, Wilson walked into Lisa's room.

* * *

Lisa had been discharged three days after she arrived, her wounds still sore but healing steadily. Over the three days she'd been there, she hadn't heard from House, sure, she'd gotten updates on his status from Wilson, but she hadn't seen or spoken to him. It was painful to her, that the last time she'd seen him, he'd been lying on the floor in pain. She wanted to thank him, but she had been lying in that bed for three days straight, not being allowed to leave, and, she was sure, he'd want to hear no thanks.

Yet, on the day she was discharged, she stopped by his room.

"Hey" she smiled as he lay there watching TV

Looking up at the sudden feminine voice, House froze for a second. Why was she there. Well, he knew why she was there, but he didn't know what to say.

"How are you doing?" she asked, a light smile playing on her face, obviously trying to lighten the mood

"Better" he nodded. And he was doing better, not only because the pain was slowly going back to its normal levels, but also because she was no longer with him.

"I just wanted to, uh, …" she started but, before she could even begin to _think_ of all the things she wanted to say to him, she was interrupted.

"Hey … oh, sorry" said Wilson walking in and realising Lisa was there

"No, James, it's fine" she smiled over her shoulder at him

"You're being discharged today?" he asked

"Yea, we're going to stay at my sisters for the next couple of days, just while the house is being processed" she explained

"So you'll be back home on Saturday?" asked Wilson

"Yes" she nodded

"And you're being discharged on Saturday?" the oncologist asked House

The diagnostician merely nodded.

"He is" smiled his doctor, Dr. Gibbs from the doorway "_if_ he promises to stay off his feet"

"I'd ask you to stay at my place" said Wilson "but I have to go up to Denver for the week end …" he sighed

"I'll be fine" replied House, not liking all this attention around him "I'm a big boy now, I can take care of myself"

"You can stay at my place" said Cuddy, partly because she didn't like the idea of him moving around at home while his leg was still injured, and partly because she felt she'd feel safer if he was there. Even if there was no real danger because John was lying cuffed to the bed and thoroughly injured, she, for some reason, thought she'd just feel better with him around.

"Look, I _said_ I can …"

"_I_ insist you go with Dr. Chambers" said Dr. Gibbs, obviously not catching the general flinch that followed the name

"So do I" said Cuddy with a smile, trying her best to ignore the feelings the name had awakened in her.

Looking to Wilson for a way out, House found only another determined stare, resigned, he consented.

"Alright, I'll pick you up on Saturday on my way from my sister's, ok?" she asked and again, he merely nodded, doing his very best to avoid looking her in the eyes.

"Mom?" Danny called from the door "the cab's here"

"Ok, I'm coming" she turned back to House and Wilson "I'll pick _you_ up on Saturday" she nodded to House "and, James, good luck in Denver" she gave his arm a reassuring squeeze and went out after Danny.

"How are you feeling, Dr. House?" Gibbs asked him

"Peachy" he replied with full sarcastic force

"Well that's what I like to hear" he smiled back at House ignoring his sarcasm "I'll have Karl come in at 11:30 to work on your leg, is that ok?"

Again, House just nodded. _God_, he couldn't wait to get away from all the attention.

When the doctor was finally gone, Wilson turned to House "look, I have to go, my flight leaves in four hours and I still have to pack some stuff. But, even though I know you want to keep pretending not to give a damn, keep and eye on her. She's been through hell, she needs her friends"

House looked about to argue but, much to Wilson's surprise, he just nodded, something that looked like a serious look covering his face.

**TBC**

* * *

_When I read over this I felt that, to you guys, Cuddy might seem a little OOC at points, so I thought I'd explain so you don't think I've completely lost it. Any OOC-ness on Cuddy's part is intentional, particularly her light manner and apparent well being after everything that happened. Don't lose faith, I haven't completely lost my mind … as I said before, the rest of the story will _not_ be all sunshine and puppies._

_I hope you enjoyed that :)_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	10. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Ok, so I passed my exam on Saturday and have OFFICIALLY gotten into med school :D (I start in september XD) So I figured, I'm happy, I should make you guys happy too … so I wrote a new chapter :D_

_I hope you like it, I really like where it is leading and I think you will too, ya know, when you get there, i.e. when I post the new chapters :P_

_Thank you all so much for your reviews, and I promise to start posting again regularly when I get back from my holiday :D_

* * *

Wilson, as he'd begrudgingly promised, left for Denver on Friday morning, telling House he'd call on Saturday to make sure everything was fine as he was discharged. Again, House reminded him that he was a fully grown man and perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but Wilson was not going to be dissuaded.

Now, it was Saturday morning and House found himself sitting in the passenger seat of Cuddy's silver Lexus. In the back seat, Danny looked out the window as all the familiar houses of his neighbourhood passed by and Rebecca slept with her head against the door, House's crutches lying on the floor by their feet.

"How are you feeling?" Cuddy asked looking at him as he, much like Danny silently gazed out the window.

"I'm fine" he replied, his fear of looking in her eyes, again, keeping him from turning his neck towards her.

A few seconds later, they were parked in front of what used to be the Chambers' home and was now, technically, only the Cuddy home.

But no one moved to get out.

A little confused by the lack of movement, House turned to look at Lisa who had her eyes fixed on the house. It was big, white and, while looking absolutely perfect to everyone else, held too many negative memories for her to be able to go in.

"Cuddy?" he asked seeing her eyes start to glisten.

Thus far, from what he'd seen, she'd been playing tough, acting like she was totally fine for her kids' sake, but, as he saw now, she most certainly wasn't fine.

"Mom?" Danny asked leaning forwards from his seat and touching his mother's shoulder "mom, are you ok?"

When Cuddy didn't reply, House stepped in "Cuddy, drive" he told her

"What?" she managed

"Drive"

"Where to? We're here …"

Sighing, and that part of him that was scared shitless kicking himself, House replied "you guys can stay over at my place, ok?"

"You don't have to do that, House … we can, we can stay here …" again, she was trying to be brave when House could see the fear in her eyes

"Even if I agreed, I highly doubt you'd leave the car" he replied, turning to her in shock as she opened the door and started to walk up to the front door, key in hand.

"Pass me a crutch and wait here" he said to Danny as he, too, opened the door.

"Cuddy!" he called once on the outside, his weight leaning heavily on his crutch as she started to make his way over to her.

"I'm fine" she called over her shoulder, her eyes glued to the door

"Cuddy, come on" he insisted, the pain in his leg searing through him as he finally reached her.

"I can do this!" she said, and, as he looked to her, House saw the tears flowing down her cheeks

"Cuddy … Lisa, come on, don't …" but before he could finish, he saw Cuddy begin to shake her head

"I can't do this …" she whispered turning to face him and hiding her face in his chest in an unexpected hug.

"I know" he whispered over her head as, against his better judgement, his arms closed around her and he hugged her back "come on …"

"We don't have to stay at your place, we can, uh, we can get a room at a hotel, or …" she began pulling away.

"I think you're forgetting what Gibbs said" he smiled slightly "I need supervision …"

Hanging her head in a short nod, Cuddy consented and, slowly, she began making her way away from the House, barely registering how House's free hand was resting on her back.

* * *

House's home was barely big enough for one person, let alone for four. One bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen and living room.

"Uh, make yourselves at home" said House looking everything but comfortable.

It wasn't that he didn't like them, or didn't want them there. But his home was his safe retreat from the world, it was where he could be perfectly alone with no one to judge him. With them there, that was taken away; he felt vulnerable.

"Mommy?" Becca called poking Cuddy's leg "I need to go to the bathroom" she whispered

"Oh, uh" Cuddy looked at House who merely indicated with his hand the direction – not that Cuddy didn't know it, but still – and, taking the girl by the hand, she headed to the bathroom.

Once Cuddy was gone, a silence filled the room as House tried to figure out where everyone would sleep. He literally had one bed and one couch … that there were four people. Then, as the boy shifted on his feet, House remembered he was there and the silence seemed to thicken as he found himself incapable of thinking of anything to say.

Danny, too, was silent. He knew he'd already thanked House at the hospital, but still, he felt that wasn't enough.

Little did the boy know that House also wanted to thank him for, despite his young age, looking out for Cuddy and making sure someone was there to look after her, to save her.

"You play?" House asked nodding towards his Piano and guitars. It was the first thing he could think of, he didn't really know how to connect with kids but he knew eleven year old boys tended to like music, and so did he, so he led with that.

Looking confused, Danny followed House's look "oh, I had some guitar lessons for a while … but I sorta quit after a while when …" but he was cut off as his sister came running back towards them.

"Whatcha talking about?" she asked Danny looking around the room

"Music" he replied smiling down at his little sister.

Looking around, Becca spotted the grand piano that sat in the corner of House's living room "ohh! Dr. House?"

"Hm?"

"Can you teach me to play _that_?" she asked pointing to the majestic instrument

Smiling, Cuddy passed a hand through her daughter's hair and looked up at House "maybe some day, ok sweetie?"

Becca merely nodded, her gaze still fixed on the piano.

"So…" began Cuddy looking around

"Yea, uh … I was thinking, um, the kids could take the couch and, I'll take the, uh, lounge chair and you can have the bed?" he suggested

Smiling at him, Cuddy shook her head "your leg can't take a night on that thing. Dr. Gibbs wanted you to be with someone to help you, not inflict more pain on you" she smiled again "they can take the couch, _you _take the bed and I'll take the chair"

When House was about to argue, Cuddy nodded to her kids who immediately took their places on the couch and he hung his head, resigned.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't try …"

Smiling, Cuddy nodded "yea, if Wilson asks, you were a perfect gentleman" she joked

As he walked towards his room, House smiled slightly. He knew she thought the only reason he'd suggested she take the bed was so that Wilson couldn't call him un-chivalrous, but the truth was he really did want her to take it. Because he cared if she was comfortable and well, and after her little break down at the house, she'd need some good rest or she'd get upset again and, with how strong she was trying to be, the next break down would undoubtedly be worse than the first; much worse.

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope you like it and are starting to see that the sunshine and puppies won't last. Ok it may seem like I have something against sunshine and puppies, I don't, I really don't … but I just feel that a good fic needs to have a lot of rain and whatever the opposite of puppies is before we get the happily ever after ending. _

_I hope you enjoyed that :)_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	11. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Hello, all. I am now back from my awesome end of year trip and, apart from my tan, I have also brought back a load of ideas for this story :D_

_I'm sorry to only update today but after arriving on Wednesday night, I was too tired yesterday to write anything. But I did manage to write this today and I hope you like it. _

_I'd like to thank you all for your amazing reviews because, as any fanfic writer out there knows, there's nothing better than to know that your work is being read and liked. So, thanks, guys!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

That night, Cuddy, House, Danny and Becca sat around the small coffee table in House's living room, each with a slice of Pizza. Always one to look out for her children's health, Cuddy had opposed the chosen meal at first, however, after finding House's fridge empty and not having the energy to go shopping, she had, much to her kids' happiness, agreed.

"Mommy?" Becca called leaning her head onto her mother's shoulder as she sat on the couch

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I'm sleepy" the five year old rubbed her eye

Checking her watch, Cuddy nodded. Becca was used to going to bed at 8:30 every night, it was now 9:30 and, with everything that had happened over the past few days, it was no surprise the girl was exhausted.

"Ok, baby, you want to go to sleep?" Cuddy asked turning to her daughter

"Do you mind if I put her on your bed for now?" Cuddy asked House as she put down her slice of pizza "when we're done with the food, I'll go get her"

Half-way through a bite of pizza, House nodded and watched as Cuddy stood and, taking the little girl's hand, led her towards the diagnostician's room.

After a few minutes, Danny turned to House

"What's going to happen to him?" he asked out of the blue

"Who" House asked taking another bite of his pizza

"Dad" Danny hung his head

Moving the pizza away from his mouth, House looked at Danny with a puzzled face "well, once he's recovered, he'll go to trial and then to jail" he explained looking like what he was saying was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you _sure_?" the boy insisted "are you _sure_ he won't come back?"

"Yes" House replied, not knowing what else to say

"Can you promise that?"

House looked surprised for a moment then replied truthfully "I can't, no"

After that, there was a moment's silence in which House studied the boy's face as he stared at his pizza "I hope so, though" he added, not quite sure why he was saying it but feeling Danny needed a little more than his previous answer.

"So do I" agreed Danny as he picked up another slice of pizza and joined House in silently eating it.

* * *

An hour later, Cuddy, as her daughter had done previously announced that she too was beginning to feel tired.

"I'll go get Becca" she said standing from the couch "Danny, you're sleeping here" she pointed at where she'd just been sitting "and Becca over there" she pointed to the other side of the couch "so start getting ready, ok?"

The boy nodded in response.

* * *

As he reached the doorway to his room, House stopped and watched the scene before him in silence. Sitting on his bed, Cuddy was slowly stroking her daughter's hair as the young girl slept.

"You can leave her" he heard himself say before even processing the thought.

"Huh?" Cuddy asked not having been aware of his presence, as she turned her head his way

"Let her sleep, there's plenty of space for me on the other side, so long as she keeps to her place, I'll be fine" House could barely believe what he was suggesting, yet, he was.

"Are you sure?" Cuddy asked turning completely towards him

House nodded "if you wake her up now, she'll take forever to get to sleep again, so you might as well leave her" sure, mask a nice action with a practical one.

"Thank you" Cuddy smiled as she stood from the bed and covered Becca a little better.

"Well, good night" she said, hesitating a little next to him as she passed by him in the doorway

"Night" he replied with a small nodded moving into the room.

* * *

That night, House awoke to the sound of sobbing. For a moment, he felt disoriented. Then he noticed the small bump in the bed sheets next to him which was shaking in time with the sobs.

"Becca?" he asked in a low whisper as he turned slightly towards her

"Mom" he heard her whimper

Unsure of what to do, House quickly stood from his bed and, his limp extra pronounced in his sleepy haze, he headed towards his bedroom door to go get Cuddy.

However, he stopped when he reached the end of the corridor. Apparently, Becca wasn't the only woman sobbing in his house that night.

"It's ok mom" House heard Danny say as he hugged Cuddy "I love you"

Sighing and hanging his head, House chose to go back to Becca. He wasn't sure why, but something in him made him want to comfort and protect her. Hell, if an eleven year old boy could do it, why couldn't he?

"Becca?" he called again as he sat next to her on the mattress.

"I'm scared, Dr. House" she cried turning towards him

Struggling for words, House nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder "Shh, it's ok"

Shaking her head, Becca sat up in bed and quickly latched onto House crying into his chest "I don't want him to come back"

Closing his eyes for a moment and placing a hand on Becca's head, House nodded "I know, kid, I don't want him to come back either"

"He'll hurt mommy again" she cried

"Shh" House tried to sooth her "he won't Becca, its ok"

She shook her little head again "he _will_, mommy can't stop him because he's too big and strong and neither can Danny …"

House's anger at John was growing by the second. And it wasn't just because of what he'd done to Cuddy; it was, much to House's surprise, because of what he'd done to Becca to make this happen, to frighten her to that point.

He knew what it was like to grow up hating his father, the constant desire to flee, to escape, the insecurity and the fear, but at least he'd been older, more mature, more capable of dealing with it. Becca was five, and John was a bastard for giving her a single reason to feel the way House knew she was feeling.

"Becca, listen to me" House heard himself say as he pulled her head back from his chest and looked at her tear stained face "I promise you, he's not going to hurt her anymore, ok?" He couldn't promise to keep him in jail, and he couldn't promise that he'd never come back into their lives, but at least he could promise that he'd never lay a hand on Cuddy or her kids again "I promise you he won't hurt _you_ again, ok?"

Sniffing and whipping away her tears, Becca nodded. A few hours ago, House was, to her, only a friend, a goofy adult who let her do things she knew she wasn't supposed to, but now he was someone she was counting on, and while that made the little girl feel safe, it scared him to death.

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, Cuddy carefully moved away from Danny who had fallen asleep next to her so as not to wake him. She remembered last night, the nightmares and the fear. She'd known all along that she was safe, that John was locked away somewhere and wouldn't get to them again. She'd also know that House was there, that, no matter what, he'd never lay a hand on her or her kids, and yet she'd felt insecure and scared.

She'd seen plenty of women in her position over her years as a doctor, and always she'd seen the empty look in their eyes and heard about their fear as they cried before her. But now she was in their place, and, even though she'd thought, back then, that the fear must be terrible, it was proving to be more than she'd ever imagined.

She knew it was irrational, that there no longer was anything to fear. But while there was, she'd been strong and kept the fear at bay while thinking only of her kids, now that she could think about herself knowing they were safe, it was like a tidal wave of emotion had swept over her, and she wasn't sure how long it would take for the damage to be fixed; or even if it _could_ be fixed.

As she walked towards the bathroom, something caught her eye as she passed House's door. Not quite believing her eyes, Cuddy moved into the room and stared at the sight before her.

There, on his large bed, were House and Becca, both sleeping peacefully. Ok, _that_ wasn't so much a shock. What was, however, was the fact that Becca was lying with her little head on House's chest and that he had his hand protectively wrapped around her. Cuddy knew House well enough to know he wasn't exactly a robot, that he was capable of human feelings, yet, it had been so long since she'd witnessed anything like that from him, that it absolutely stunned her.

As she stood there watching the scene before her, she was completely unaware of it. But later, Cuddy would be able to say that the moment she saw her little daughter snuggle closer to House as his arm kept her safe at his side, was the moment she began to fall in love with him again.

**TBC**

* * *

_So, I hope you enjoyed that. I know a couple of you were hoping for some House-kids bonding, so I hope you liked that. I'm, surprisingly, finding it harder to make him bond with Danny than with Becca, but I promise there _will_ be more bonding with _both_ the kids in future episodes (as well as a whole lot of Huddyness to go with it :D)_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	12. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Hello all, here I am again. Sorry for the long wait, but I just got a summer job and have spent my days running around like an insane person trying to keep a group of 14 8/9 year olds in order at my school's summer school … (if any of you have ever attempted to control kids of said age, you'll understand how tired I am)_

_But I did manage to get this out tonight, so, yay! … I hope you enjoy it, as always, and please keep up the lovely reviews, they really do encourage me! :D_

_Thanks also to silkyway for contantly reminding me that I NEED to write more :P Keep telling me! It obviously works :P_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

At 11 am, House awoke to the sound of Cuddy's ringing phone. Sighing and stretching, he suddenly realised he wasn't alone and, looking down at the sleeping child next to him, remembered the previous night and, for some reason, he couldn't help a smile erupting on his face.

"_Hello? … Oh, Mr. Attwood, good morning … oh, you did? … uh huh, well … that's very kind but … well, thank you … I suppose I'll see you there then_ _…_" he heard Cuddy speak into her phone

Getting up slowly and ensuring that Becca was still asleep, House began his limp towards the living room.

As he walked down the corridor towards the living room, he spotted Cuddy sitting on the couch at her son's feet, her head in her hands.

"Who was that?" he asked when he registered the expression on her face

"Oh, good morning" she said trying to smile up at him

"Morning" replied House, still waiting for the reply

Sighing, Cuddy hung her head "that was. Mr Attwood"

"Attwood the donor, Attwood?" House asked

Cuddy nodded "his brother is the DA … he heard about … about what happened and he's getting the trial pushed up …" she explained

Scratching the back of his head, House took a seat beside her "When is it?" he asked

"Attwood says, so far, Friday looks like the best bet" she said hanging her head

House, too, saw the negative side of this. On the one hand, that bastard would get what was coming to him soon, on the other, the odds were his defence attorneys would make Cuddy, himself and, maybe even the kids testify. And if they did that, it would, quite possibly, be more than Cuddy and her kids could handle.

"Are you sure …"

Cuddy nodded and cut him off "the sooner we do this, the sooner it'll all be over"

There she was, trying to be strong again.

"Cuddy …" he began again, only to be cut off again.

"I have a meeting with him today at three …" she explained as she stood "… I have to call my lawyer, and get the kids ready …"

"They can sta …" House began

Lisa shook her head "No, Attwood said they should go … they may have to testify …"

Standing and striding to her side, House tried to talk some sense into her "Cuddy, I don't think they sh…"

"They have to …" she explained "… If its just the wife, then its easy to accuse me of framing him for his money … if it's them …" she looked at Danny who was peacefully sleeping on the couch, one of his arms hanging off the side "… no one can accuse them …"

House knew she was right, even if it disgusted him to think that someone would accuse her of making it all up, he knew she really was right. Lawyers could invent any story if it suited their clients.

"Ok" he conceded with a nod "do you want me to go in with you?" he asked, still a little uncertain about his new side showing through, but feeling he should go with it.

"You have to" Cuddy said as if it were the most natural thing on earth "you have to testify too …"

At that, House was caught of guard. Sure, he knew it would probably happen, some defence lawyer grilling him about what he had against John, but he had still hoped that it wouldn't happen.

"I …" he began "… I don't think I shou …"

"You have to … you're the one who …" but she stopped. She couldn't say it, she couldn't say that he was the one who saved her, not when he was staring into her eyes like that.

"Please?" she asked; it was the only word she could get out.

He just nodded "ok" he gave in. He knew he'd have to, there was no point fighting her on it.

"Mommy?" Becca called from the door way

Turning from House's gaze, Cuddy faced the little girl who'd just showed up at the door in her little pyjamas.

"Good morning, Becca. Do you want some breakfast?" she asked

Nodding, Becca took her mother's extended hand and followed her to House's kitchen.

Standing exactly where he had been a few seconds earlier, House hung his head. Well, this was going to be good.

* * *

At three o'clock, House found himself seated in Bryan Attwood's office with Cuddy beside him and Danny and Becca seated on the man's large leather couch.

"Thank you for coming, Dr. Cuddy" he nodded at Lisa "Dr. House" he nodded at House "I hope to be brief, I know this can't be easy and I understand you need to tend to your kids …" he smiled at the two children who were, at that moment, looking around the office.

"Thank you" said Cuddy with a nod

"Well, as I'm sure my brother mentioned, I managed to get John's trial moved up to Friday, in this kind of case, particularly when kids are involved, I feel getting things over with early on is the most important … every one needs to get on with the healing process as soon as possible, don't you agree?"

Nodding, Cuddy chanced a sideways glance and house, knowing there had to be a thousand insults floating through his mind right then; if there was anything the diagnostician hated, it was people talking in that calm, almost patronising tone.

"Well, the proof on this case is pretty solid, I'm sure there is no case the defence can make that will stick before a jury, but still, we need to make sure we have all the facts" the explained "so, I have arranged for a more specialized lawyer to come in to talk to Daniel and Rebecca, if you don't object, that is" he added to Cuddy

Cuddy merely nodded. The last thing she wanted was her kids being asked to testify, but she knew it would help the case, and more than sparing them the pain of the trial, she wanted to spare them the pain of knowing John was free and walking around.

"Very well then, so, perhaps, we could start with the two of them, and, of course, you may be in the room with them" he added again trying to put Cuddy at ease, something that, by her face, she was definitely not.

"After that, I will collect statements from both yourself and Dr. House, and we'll be done …" he tried to smile.

Looking at Cuddy's expression, House stepped in "Could Dr. Cuddy, maybe give her statement now?" he asked trying to, with his face, tell Attwood that he feared it was all becoming to much for Lisa "I can do mine after Daniel and Rebecca …"

Coughing slightly, Attwood nodded and straightened in his chair "certainly, if you prefer that order, that won't be a problem at all …"

Nodding, Cuddy thanked him "that would be great, thanks" she replied in a much smaller voice than that she'd used when telling House about the meeting earlier that morning.

When no one moved, she proceeded, her voice regaining its strength "House, could you, er, take Danny and Becca outside?" she asked

Sure, Danny might know about some of the things she'd have to tell Attwood, but House certainly didn't, and Becca certainly didn't need to.

Nodding, House stood with his cane and, motioning for the two kids to follow him, limped out.

"Well, why don't we start at the beginning?" Attwood asked taking out his pen as Cuddy hung her head in a half nod.

* * *

When, and hour later House and the kids were called back to the office, the doctor couldn't help overhearing Attwood tell Cuddy that he'd do his best to keep "that information" out of the trial.

What information that was, however, he had no idea, but, judging by Cuddy's tear stained face and the handkerchief in her hand, it had to be something big. One of those 'somethings' that she kept bottled up in her attempts to be strong, the kind she _had_ to let out some how.

But, House decided, until Friday was over, he'd let her keep her secrets. She needed to hold on to as much control as she could, because, he knew, once she set foot in that court room, the defence would do everything to take away her control, and _then_, she would _really_ need whatever little bit of strength she could summon.

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed that, and that it builds up the suspense a little for the next chapters … see what I meant about the lack of sunshine and puppies? I _told_ you! :P_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	13. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Hey, first of all, a HUGE sorry for the wait. I know I suck for leaving you all hanging this long and I really am sorry. It's just that after I finished Foetus two weeks ago, I not only went on Holidays physically (as in not having internet) but also mentally as my brain seemed to want to do everything but write more 'Stand'. I did, however, manage to get this short-ish chapter done. I know it's not as great as some of the others, but I just wanted to put it in there so that I can, 1. prove to you that I'm still alive, 2. get back writing and 3. move the story along to the part that, at least, I am looking forwards to the most right now (aka the trial) :P_

Again, I'd like to thank you all for your reviews and support, and I hope you're all still out there, both enjoying your summer holidays and ready to read another chapter of my story.

_Sorry again, and enjoy!_

* * *

"Danny, honey, can you help your sister take a bath?" Cuddy asked Daniel when they finally returned to House's home that afternoon.

"Sure, mom" replied the boy taking his five year old sister by the hand and headed to the bathroom.

"You ok?" House asked Cuddy as she dropped onto his couch, her head in her hands.

Nodding into her hands, Cuddy looked up at him "I'm fine, thanks. I just have a bit of a head ache"

"You want some aspirin?" he asked

"Please" she nodded as she lay down on the couch.

Limping towards his bedroom, House noted how worn out Cuddy looked. She was paler than usual, there were slight bags under her eyes and the sparkle that usually lay in the blue-grey orbs was missing. It was painful for him to watch. She was trying so hard to hold it together that it was tearing her apart.

"Here you go" he said a few minutes later as he handed her a glass of water with the aspirin already dissolved in it.

Smiling weakly, Cuddy sat up and took the drink "thanks"

"Are you sure you're ok?" House asked her as he took a seat next to her

"I told you" she tried to smile "I'm fine, I just have a head ache"

Sensing it was time for him to step out of character, House sighed "You don't look fine, Cuddy"

"Well, thanks" she replied sarcastically

"No, uh, what I mean is, you look tired. I know this, uh, well, if you need to talk …"

But Cuddy cut him off "I appreciate that, House, really, I do. But I really am fine, I just need to rest a bit"

Nodding in resignation, House took the now empty glass from her and headed to the kitchen.

Now alone, Cuddy lay back down and covered her eyes with her fore arm. She hated the wall that she was slowly building up, she hated how she was shutting House out when he was only trying to help, but she didn't know how else to deal with everything. She felt like her emotions were trying to cascade out of her and the only way she knew to control that was to put up one hell of a dam.

And, suddenly, she felt a tear slip down her cheek, almost like a small leak in said metaphorical dam. Opening her eyes to blink the other tears away, Cuddy spotted House looking at her from the kitchen doorway

"Yea, you're obviously, fine" he said to her as he took a few steps forwards

"I am" she lied again "I just …"

"Lisa" House used her first name "talk to me … you need to talk to _someone_"

After being silent for a few seconds, Cuddy nodded slightly "It's just …" and immediately the tears began flowing freely.

"Hey, its ok" said House as he sat next to where she was lying, his hand squeezing her upper arm lightly

"Its … I just can't … I'm _so_ tired, and I can't sleep, and …" she was crying now, openly, and it was hurting House to see her like that.

"Take the bed, Cuddy" he offered her

But she shook her head "no. It doesn't matter where I sleep, I just _can't_" she cried

"Hey …" House soothed her as she suddenly sat up and, much like Becca had done that night, leaned forwards onto his chest "it's ok, Lise"

"I have nightmares, every night, he's always there, and he hurts them and …"

"Shh, you know he can't hurt you anymore" he said as she wrapped her arms around him "try to sleep, Cuddy"

She shook her head into House's chest "someone has to look after Becca and Danny, I have to be there for them right now"

Placing a hand on her back in a sort of hug, House let the smell of her perfume envelop him "you have to look after yourself first. You need to be ok before you can help them"

"They come first …" she whispered as her tears soaked House's shirt.

Closing his eyes over her head, House felt his hatred for John flare up again. In that moment, as the woman he had loved for years crumbled before him, he wanted nothing more than to rip John Chambers to pieces. How could he have had someone like Cuddy and hurt her like he did?

"_I'll_ look after them, ok?" he asked as he held her to him "you just rest"

"But he's always there, he's …"

"Listen to me, Cuddy" said House as he pulled her back from him a little and looked into her tear stained face "that son of a bitch is in jail. He's going to get what's coming to him and he's not going to hurt you any more, ok? I promise …"

Smiling weakly and nodding, Cuddy closed her eyes as House's hand raised up to brush away a tear.

It had been years since she'd had someone comfort her, years since she'd felt completely safe in a man's arms. But right then, sitting there with House, his eyes staring into her tear-filled ones, she felt nothing but safe and comfortable.

"You're ok" House whispered to her as he brushed a tear away from her other eye

"I'm so sorry …" she whispered as she looked away from him

Frowning in confusion, House turned Cuddy's face towards him gently "what for?"

She didn't know how to answer. She wasn't sure if she was apologising for her break down, for taking over his home, for being the reason he risked his life, or for ignoring so much about them over the years. But she just felt like she had to apologise.

"Cuddy?" House asked as she suddenly focused her eyes on his "What's wro…"

"Mom!" came Danny's voice from the bathroom breaking the trance between House and Cuddy

"I'm sorry" she whispered to him again before whipping away her tears and getting up to tend to her kids.

Looking after her as she walked away, House sighed. There were only three days until the trial and, independently of what happened, he knew the result would be a deeply hurt and broken Cuddy. And he didn't know what to do to avoid it. He didn't know how to make things better for her.

**TBC**

* * *

_I know it's shorter than usual, but hopefully it'll be enough to keep you going until I can get my brain to function again and get a decent length chapter out :)_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	14. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Hey, I'm back. Again, I'm sorry for the wait but I'm currently taking driving lessons so am spending most of my time doing that and organizing a surprise party for a friend who is leaving._

_I hope you enjoy it, even if it is a little late, and I hope to post the next chapter relatively soon. As always, reviews help get me writing more :) _

_Oh, and, once again, thank you all so much for your reviews, I'm glad to know you're still there despite the long waits. Thank you!_

_Sorry again, and enjoy!_

* * *

"_how are things_"? Wilson asked House over the phone a few minutes later while Cuddy got Becca changed and Danny took a shower

"Not good" House replied looking over his shoulder to check that Cuddy was still in the bedroom

"_I heard about the trial being moved forwards, it's Friday, right? I'm going to be back there on Thursday, so if you need any help …"_

"I'm not the one who needs help" said House looking down at his still tear-stained shirt

On the other end, Wilson sighed "_She's never going to admit that she needs help_"

"I've noticed"

"_How are Danny and Becca?_"

"Better than she is" he replied

"_Have you tried talking to her?_" Wilson asked

"No, I've been sitting on my ass for three days in total silence watching her crumble …" House replied sarcastically "Of course I have, she won't talk …"

"_Maybe we should get some outside help, maybe Dr. Kitts could help her …_"

"Kitts the psychologist, _that_ Kitts?" House asked

Sighing, Wilson shook his head, he knew House despised the profession, but Cuddy needed to talk to someone, and if she wasn't ready to talk to them, then they'd have to find someone else "_Yes, _that_ Kitts_"

House knew Wilson was right, Cuddy did need some help, maybe more help than they could provide, but, still he didn't like the idea of Cuddy seeing a psychologist.

"_Anyway, I have to go, but just, keep trying to talk to her …_" said Wilson

"Who was that?" came Cuddy's voice from the doorway as she returned with Becca at her side

Turning around in surprise, House looked at her "Wilson" he managed to get out as he remembered how close they'd been before "how you doing?" he asked her

Smiling, Cuddy nodded "better, thanks"

* * *

"Why are we up so early, mommy?" yawned Becca that Friday morning as they sat around House's kitchen table waiting for its owner to finish getting dressed.

"We have a meeting, baby" Cuddy replied looking over at her son knowing that, because he understood what was going on, he was much more nervous than his sister.

Nodding, Becca looked down at her cereal bowl and then back up at her mother "what meeting?"

Looking again to her son, Cuddy just brushed her daughter's hair back, but before she could reply, House materialized in the doorway

"Everyone fed?" he asked limping to one of the cabinets and taking out his cereal.

Looking at her watch, Cuddy shook her head slightly "we're going to be late"

Checking his watch with a confused look, House replied "it's 8:15, they told us to be there at 9:15 …"

"I just don't want to be late" Cuddy replied in a small voice.

As the days left for the trial decreased, House had noticed a steady decline in Cuddy. She'd stopped eating as much as she should, he caught her crying more often than not, and, on top of it all, she was looking pale and beaten up, the shinny bruise on her face still visible whenever she didn't wear make up.

"We won't be" House said taking a seat next to her and beside Daniel

Happy to have House, who he'd learnt to trust over the past week, beside him, Daniel took another spoonful of Cheerios to his mouth and ate the rest of his breakfast in silence. His eyes, every now and then, shooting up to his mother who, he could tell, was in serious need of some help.

* * *

"Lisa" greeted her lawyer, Kevin Thompson, "you're early"

Grinning at Cuddy victoriously, getting only a week smile back, House moved away from the group and towards Wilson who was sitting on a bench by the doors to the court room.

"What are you doing here already?" House asked taking a seat next to the oncologist and stretching his right leg out in front of him, his two crutches – which Cuddy had been making him use – propped up against the wall beside them.

"Isabella called me" he replied

"Cuddy's sister? Why's she calling _you_?" House asked

Hanging his head, Wilson sighed "you know Cuddy's dad doesn't like you, he never has. Isabella called to make sure I'd be here, they don't really trust you to take care of her …" he finished in another sigh.

"Wow, great to know I'm loved" House replied sarcastically looking up to where Cuddy was standing, her kids at her side.

"You know he just thinks you're the same asshole he met in college, that's all"

House nodded and shrugged, not only did he not care what Samuel Cuddy thought of him, but he wasn't even sure the man's assumptions were wrong. If anything, most people would claim he was an even bigger ass than he'd been all those years ago.

"Lisa!" came a female voice from the door which had just opened and, before House could even look up properly, Isabella Cuddy, Lisa's sister was hugging her. "Are you alright?" he heard her ask.

'Yea' he thought 'that's the right question to ask someone who is about to attend her own husband's trial. Is she alright! Like there's even a chance that she is!'

"I'm doing fine" Cuddy replied moving away from her sister's embrace knowing that, at this point, any sort of comforting behaviour would only make her crying more likely.

"Dr. Wilson" a deep male voice interrupted House's thoughts as Sam shook Wilson's hand, his eyes scanning House's scruffy appearance – and by 'scruffy' he meant House's 'going to court' appearance.

"Sam" House greeted with an overly large grin sticking his hand out to the other man

"Greg" Sam greeted him coldly, never quite having gotten over the fact that his daughter had fallen for such a man, even if all those years ago, and that, knowing that she had, said man had hurt her.

Before the two guys beside him could get into any kind of argument, Wilson cut in "they're opening the doors, we should get in"

Nodding, Sam moved back to where his daughters and grandkids were standing and House, standing slowly, limped towards the open doors.

The truth was he wanted to be there for Cuddy, but he knew a fight between him and her father would not help her right now.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Cuddy sat next to her lawyer at a table, House, Wilson, Daniel, Becca and Cuddy's family behind them.

The silence enveloping the room was evidence of the apprehension every one was feeling, knowing at any moment John would be brought in through the side door with his snake of an attorney.

"Why can't I sit with mommy?" Becca asked looking up at House who was seated beside her

"Mommy has to be over there in the grown ups table, Becks" Wilson cut in, knowing House wasn't in the frame of mind to answer the kid nicely.

"Why aren't _you_ there, then?" the five year old asked again

"I …" but his response was cut off by the opening of the side doors and the turning of all heads.

"House …" Wilson whispered in warning as he saw the diagnostician clench his jaw

And just as House's eyes moved slightly to where Cuddy was sitting, John Chambers walked into the room, a uniformed cop at his side, his attorney behind them.

* * *

"The prosecution calls Lisa Chambers to the stand" said Thompson, Cuddy's lawyer as he stood from his seat 15 minutes into the trial.

Slowly, feeling all eyes on her, Cuddy stood from her seat and climbed the few steps to the stand.

"State your name for the record, please" said the Judge looking down at her

Her eyes desperately trying to avoid her kid's scared faces and her soon to be ex-husband's eyes, Cuddy replied "Lisa Cuddy Ch … Chambers"

"Dr. Chambers, could you tell me what happened the afternoon your daughter was brought into your own ER?" he asked her

Nodding and taking a breath, Cuddy explained how she'd walked in to find cops standing around and a child crying, how she'd been forbidden to see her daughter and had talked to one of the police men in her office.

"And what happened after you and your family left the ER, Dr. Chambers?"

"We … we went home and …"

"yes?"

"I …"

"Was Mr. Chambers angry?"

"Yes" she replied noticing out of the corner of her eye that he shifted in his seat, his eyes fixed on hers

"Was he violent?"

"N … Not at first" Cuddy started, suddenly finding a courage she didn't know she had in her "at first he just yelled, he, he accused me of telling Dr, Dr. House, of telling him what was going on. I hadn't and that's what I told him. Then he did get violent"

"Was that when you got that bruise, Doctor?" Thompson asked motioning to Cuddy's bruised cheek

Nodding, Cuddy touched the spot lightly, her eyes falling to the stand before her

"Had what happened that night happened before?" Thompson asked

Cuddy nodded "yes"

"Frequently?"

Again, Cuddy nodded "whenever he had too much to drink"

"Dr. Chambers, I'm sure everyone is wondering why you didn't speak out before"

"I …" Cuddy looked at her kids "I was scared. I, I was scared of what he would do …"

"To you?" the lawyer asked

"To Danny and Becca"

"Your children?"

Cuddy nodded.

"I have one more question, Dr. Chambers, are you scared that what happened all those times will happen again?"

"Yes" Cuddy replied.

"Thank you, I have no further questions" Thompson addressed the judge.

"Vey well, Defence?"

Standing from his seat and buttoning his jacket, John's lawyer, Larry Klein, approached Cuddy.

"Dr. Chambers, are you and Dr. House romantically involved?"

"What?! No" Cuddy replied, genuinely shocked, her eyes involuntarily finding House's

"Really? But you are living with him" Klein pressed on

"Only because …"

"So you are"

"I, yes b …"

"And you have been together is the past" he continued "maybe not in a relationship, but you have been _together_" he emphasised the word to get his point across

"We, yes, a long time ago"

"Oh, it wasn't that long ago, Dr. Chambers, not really … I mean, 12 years ago isn't really _that_ long ago"

Cuddy couldn't reply to that, how did he know? Did John know? Judging by his sudden change in posture, she thought not.

"Is this not true, Dr. Chambers?"

"It is, I …" but she couldn't continue as Klein pressed on.

"So you admit that you and Dr. House have been _romantically_ involved, more than once?"

Cuddy saw her father shift in his seat, his eyes falling on House. She merely nodded.

"Well, considering it was Dr. House who, in a _truly_ courageous fashion 'saved' you, I don't think it would be too far to assume you two were working together …"

Looking at her lawyer, Cuddy saw everything he had told her come true. The Defence really was going to use anything they could.

"I'm sorry, I don't …"

"You don't understand? Well, the way I see it, is that 12 years ago, you and Dr. House made a plan. Mr. Chambers is a rich man, golddiggers aren't …"

"I object!" Cuddy's lawyer shouted from his seat

"Sustained"

"Withdrawn. All I'm saying, Dr. Chambers" Klein changed his tactic "is that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say you and Dr. House were working together to get your husband's money. Considering your relations with Dr. House 12 years ago, three months before your wedding, it doesn't seem likely that your marriage to my client was out of love … and if we take _that_ into account, then it isn't much of a stretch to say you and Dr. House would try to set my client up … or is it a coincidence that this all happened just days after he signed a millionaire contract?"

"I object!" Thompson cried again, this time rising to his feet

"Sustained!"

"Tell us, Dr. Cuddy, did he really hit you, or did you ask Dr. House to …"

"Councelor!" the Judge interrupted

"No further questions, your honour" Klein finished looking one last time at Cuddy who was in tears and moving back to his seat.

"Would the prosecution like to cross examine?" the Judge asked

"Yes, your honour" replied Thompson standing up again and mouthing "I'm sorry" to Cuddy.

Her heart rising to her throat, Cuddy realised what was to come. He'd promised not to mention it, not to bring it up. But he had to. He had to make it clear that she really was the victim.

"Dr. Cuddy, I know this is a sensitive issue. But was Mr. Chambers ever violent in other situations?" he asked placing a hand on the stand

Cuddy nodded, unable to look at any one person in the room.

Sitting in his seat, House stiffened slightly. True, he was a pessimist and his mind automatically ran to the worst case scenario, but it wasn't too far to think that … was it?

"Did he ever sexually assault you, Lisa?" Thompson asked and House, Wilson and Sam all turned their heads to where John was sitting.

Cuddy's nod was barely noticeable

"Your honour, I have here a medical report, from the day Dr. Chambers arrived at Princeton Plainsboro Hospital, her Sexual Assault kit and examinations were both positive"

"Why is this only being brought up now?" the Judge questioned

"We hoped it wouldn't need to be brought up" Thompson replied honestly giving Cuddy a sympathetic look

Nodding, the Judge allowed him to proceed

"How frequent were these assaults?" he asked

"Every" Cuddy paused, her eyes finding House in the crowd, the only one whose eyes were focused on the back of John's skull and not on her "Every week, sometimes more …"

"More than once a week?"

Cuddy nodded

"Did you ever fight him?" Thompson asked

"Yes" she replied

"Did he get violent then, too, when you fought him, I mean"

Cuddy nodded, tears falling down her cheeks as she spotted Danny, his fists clenched in his lap, his eyes on the floor in front of him.

"I …" seeing that Cuddy was in no state for more questioning, Thompson said "I have no further questions, your honour"

"Very well, you may step down, Dr. Chambers"

Not meeting anyone's eye, Cuddy moved slowly back to her seat beside her lawyer and accepted the handkerchief he passed her. She knew he really wouldn't have brought it up if he didn't have to.

"The defence calls Dr. Gregory House to the stand" Thompson then spoke standing again.

Tearing his eyes away from John's emerging bald spot, House grabbed his crutches and stood. This was going to be interesting.

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed that and are looking forwards to House's testimony as much as I am :)_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	15. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Hey, so here's House's testimony, I hope you like it and, as always, keep reviewing :D_

_Thank you all so much for your reviews and comments, they make me really happy ;) Please do keep them up and I'll try to keep the writing up …_

_Ohhh! And I just realised that the season 6 premier is on the very same day as I start college … that's going to be one hell of a day :D September 21 xD_

_Also, to those of you who read Foetus, I think you'll find some good news in the A/N at the bottom of the chapter, but no cheating! You must read the chapter first :)_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

"Please state your name for the record" said the Judge as the limping doctor took a seat on the bench beside his.

"Gregory House"

"Well, Dr. House, you were the one who uncovered what was going on, were you not?" Thompson asked

"yes"

"How did you?"

"I noticed Dr. Cuddy's" and again, he used her maiden name on purpose "behaviour had changed quite drastically over the past two years and pieced it together"

"What do you mean by 'behaviour', exactly?"

"Change in wardrobe, extra make up, things like that"

Thompson nodded "what did you do when you found out?"

"I called the school"

"Daniel and Rebecca's school?"

House nodded "I had the headmistress check for any signs of abuse, no surprise she found plenty" House added his eyes focusing on John who was leaning back in his seat, his hatred for House more than evident on his face.

"And what led you to Dr. Chambers' home that night?"

"Danny called me" House replied quickly removing his eyes from John and focusing back on the lawyer

"Daniel Chambers? What did he say?"

Looking at the 11 year old boy, House replied "He told me John was angry, and I could hear the sounds of crying in the back ground"

"So Doctor and Mr. Chambers' son called _you_, because he was afraid, is that correct?"

Again, House nodded

"Why did he call _you_, Dr. House?"

Looking at the floor by the lawyer's feet, the diagnostician replied "I gave him my number. I was afraid of what would happen …"

"Very well" Thompson nodded "what happened when you arrived at the Chambers' residence?"

"I found Dr. Cuddy unconscious on the floor and heard Becca crying somewhere on the second floor. Danny was there, he told me to be quiet, then _John_ spotted me"

"What happened then?"

"He tried to insult me and make me leave. He was drunk and I hit him"

Frowning slightly, Thompson tried to get House to explain his last statement "why did you feel the need to hit Mr. Chambers?"

Nodding, House explained "I felt threatened, he had already hurt Dr. Cuddy and Rebecca, I couldn't be sure he wouldn't lash out at me too"

That was only part of the truth, but no one needed to know that the real reason he had struck John was because he'd had the gall to utter Cuddy's name after what he'd done to her.

The lawyer nodded "what happened after that?"

"He kicked me in the leg" House continued, seeing Cuddy's guilty look at the mention of his leg "I fell, I couldn't move because of the pain. Then Dr. Wilson arrived, he went to check on Cuddy and John was ready to attack him too. Danny tried to stop him and John flung him across the room"

"So you witnessed Mr. Chambers attacking his _own_ son?"

House nodded.

"No further questions"

"Defence?" the judge asked as Klein stood and walked towards House

"Dr. House" Klein began with a smug smile on his face "You are a Vicodin addict are you not?"

"I take Vicodin for my _pain_, yes"

Klein nodded "yes, but you take more than the prescribed amount?"

"I take it you already know that, so where are you going with this?" replied House, his mood everything but amused

"Dr. House" the Judge warned, seeing the first signs of annoyance in the doctor

"I am merely saying that such an addiction must be expensive, and Mr. Chambers has money"

"I object" called Thompson "opposing council is making assumptions"

"Sustained"

"Withdrawn" Klein nodded to John "Dr. House lets assume you _are_ telling the truth, that you do need the Vicodin for your pain and aren't an addict out to find his next fix. If not for his money, then why are you attacking my client?"

"Because he's a drunk, violent son of a bitch who doesn't deserve the life he's got!"

"Dr. House!" the Judge called in warning

With a smile, Klein approached the bench "again, I find it ironic that having a few drinks makes someone a – what was it? – 'drunk, violent son of a bitch'? But being addicted to opiates gets no criticism whatsoever"

"I _need_ the pills. And I would never hurt Dr. Cu … anyone because of them!" House said, his eyes meeting Cuddy's for a brief instant.

"What was that? You would never hurt _Dr. Cuddy_?" Klein smiled "such a noble thing to say, romantic, even"

"Your Honour!" Thompson stood "I object, Mr. Klein is obviously …"

"It goes to explain the witness' motives, your Honour" Klein cut in

"I'll allow it, continue"

"Tell me, Dr. House, are you in love with Dr. Cuddy?"

For four people in the court room, time seemed to stop. Turning his body fully towards the stand, John listened intently waiting for confirmation on what he'd always suspected; in her seat, Cuddy finally looked up from the wooden desk before her, her heart making its presence more than known as it pounded in her chest. She hoped the answer was yes, but she knew that was the answer the defence was looking for, the one that would make her and House look guilty as hell.

As for House, he just sat there, his brow slightly furrowed, his blue eyes piercing through the lawyer

"We're friends"

"_Friends_" Klein repeated with a smirk back to John "_close_ friends, Dr. House?"

Clenching his jaw and noticing Wilson's raised eyebrows as he sat beside Cuddy's family, House thought about his answer. If he were to tell the truth, that, yes, he was in love with her, then the judge would have more than enough reason to believe he and Cuddy were conspiring against John.

Nodding, he answered, his eyes on Cuddy over Klein's shoulder "we're good friends"

"Good friends who sleep together"

Clenching his fist against his knee, House let out a ragged breath "as you said before, that was twelve years ago"

"And you expect me to believe that was the _one_ time?"

His anger rising within him, House leaned forwards "no, it wasn't the _one_ time, not if you count the night in her dorm about _twenty_ years ago!" he replied

"I must remind you that you are under oath here, Dr. House" said Klein as he saw the doctor's eyes drifting towards Cuddy's stunned face

"Under oath? That means I have to tell the truth, right? Well here's the damn truth!" House was really angry now "that son of a bitch was married to someone like Cuddy and took advantage of it. He beat her and their kids and, for Christ's sake, he _raped _her! How can we still be having this discussion? You're a low down, piece of shit for standing for that guy and, _your honour_" House turned to the Judge's shocked face "don't you think this crap has gone far enough? He" he nodded at John "is guilty as fuck and this is nothing but a pathetic show which, in the end, will do worse for the people involved than better!"

"Dr. House!" the Judge shouted above the rising sound of voices from those assisting the trial "do you _want_ to be held in contempt?"

At that, House shut up, not because he didn't have more to say, oh, he did. But because he saw Cuddy's pleading face; she was going to need him after this was over, and him spending the night in jail would not help her, not in the least.

"I have no further questions, your Honour" said Klein with a smug look, knowing House's anger could very well work in their favour.

"Does the prosecution want to cross examine?" the judge asked Thompson who was sitting, semi stunned wondering what on earth had gotten into House.

"Oh, uh, no, your Honour"

"Alright, Dr. House, you may be excused"

Grabbing his crutches and standing, House quickly limped away from the stand, past Cuddy and her family and towards the double doors at the end of the room. Even in his angry haze, he knew it was best for him to leave before he had to witness what was about to happen.

"The Defence calls John Chambers to the stand" said Klein with a smile.

**TBC**

* * *

_Dun dun dun duuuuun :P  
I hope you liked that and are looking forwards to whatever _Johnny_ has to say :P_

_OH! I almost forgot … to those of you who read and liked foetus … wait for it … wait for it … I currently have a sequel in the making ;) Hope that makes you as happy as it does me :D_

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please leave a review!**

**CJS-DEPPendent**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer:**__ As always, I do not own House MD, any of the characters or any of the other things in here whose ownership you might question. Though, I _really_ would like to own Hugh Laurie … _

_**A/N: **__Ok, I KNOW I've been horrible in leaving you all hanging all this time, and I am SO insanely sorry!!! :(_

_I hope you're still there to read this, I know at least a few of you are because you've been asking me, frequently about this story. If you are still here, I promise you this story will not be forgotten as I really do like it and have many plans for it ... I can't promise very frequent updates seeing as I'm now in Uni and have chemistry and anatomy tests basically every week, but I will continue to update whenever I get the time._

_I want to thank you all for your reviews and, to those who are still there, thanks for sticking with me, it means a lot. And now, without further ado, chapter 12:_

_Again, sorry and enjoy!_

* * *

"Please state your name for the record" Klein smiled to John as he took his seat on the witness stand.

"John Edward Chambers" he stated, his eyes darting to Cuddy

"Mr. Chambers, could you describe your relationship with Dr. House for me?"

Nodding and smiling, John adopted his most enchanting businessman voice and began "We've never had much of a relationship. I know him mostly through my wife, he's her employee. But the few times we did meet, I realised he disliked me"

"Why do you say that, Mr. Chambers?"

"House is an ass to everyone, but he seemed to take special pleasure out of insulting _me_. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it seems obvious now that he was jealous"

"Of?" Klein urged him on

"Me being married to Lisa, of course"

Smiling back at the public, Klein spoke "so you believe that Dr. House is in love with your wife?"

"I'm not sure if he loves her, but he certainly desires her" he replied with a smile at Cuddy which made her stomach churn

"Very well. In the statement you gave the police, you mentioned that your wife had, on several occasions, confided that she believed Dr. House's addiction to be a problem. Do _you_ think it is a problem?"

"Of course" John smiled "only in an altered state of mind could a man walk into a family home and start a fight. So yes, I do believe drugs were a problem"

"And do you believe that your wife could, in any way be involved with Dr. House?"

"Romantically?" John asked "I would hope not, but I guess she could"

In her seat, Cuddy wanted nothing more than to beat John's scull in. How dare he?

"What about otherwise?"

"I don't understand" John played along as previously discussed

"What I mean to ask is, do you believe your wife and Dr. House could be acting together to imprison you and, thus, take your money?"

Hanging his head slightly, John looked almost heartbroken "Again, I hope not, but yes, I guess it could happen"

"No further questions, your honour" said Klein with a grin at John.

"Prosecution?" the Judge asked

"Mr. Chambers, let's get to what really matters here, shall we?" Thompson asked looking over his shoulder at Klein "we are not here discussing Drs. House and Cuddy, we are here discussing the fact that you allegedly assaulted your kids and raped your wife!"

"I did no such thing"

Re-entering the room, having decided that standing in the bathroom and attacking a garbage bin was not the way to go, House felt the urge to attack begin to rise again.

"So you deny that you hit your children and raped your wife?" Thompson asked with a genuinely puzzled look on his face, as he thought the man had to be even dumber than he looked

"I would never hurt my kids!" He stated "I love them!"

"Then how do you explain the bruises they are currently carrying and the multiple fractures they've had over the past few years?"

Sighing, John looked at his two kids, silently hoping no one would notice them looking away from him in fear "they're children! They play around the house, they run around and they sometimes get hurt! It's nothing that doesn't happen to every other kid! It's normal!"

"Mr. Chambers, spiral fractures of the humerus like the one your daughter presented with to Princeton General hospital two years ago, do not happen while merely 'playing around the house'!" Thompson replied almost angrily

"Well, then I don't know! Maybe some else is abusing them!"

Sighing, Thompson proceeded "In that case, maybe someone else is raping your wife!"

"Counsellor!" the judge cut in

"Withdrawn" Thompson took a breath "tell me Mr. Chambers, do you deny raping your wife?"

Looking at Cuddy, John almost wanted to laugh "I don't wish to discuss mine and Lisa's romantic life like this"

"Mr. Chambers" the Judge warned "you are under oath, answer the question"

Sighing, John nodded "No, I did not"

"Then how do you explain ..."

"the marks?" John smiled lightly "what can I say? She likes it rough"

"You son of a bitch!" House called from the back of the room, his anger now raging through his body

"Dr. House!" the Judge called as House quickly limped towards the front

"House" Thompson whispered as he stood before the diagnostician, one hand on his chest holding him back "don't be stupid! You know we have this guy!"

Sighing and glancing at Cuddy, House nodded slightly and moved to return to his seat next to Wilson and the kids

"So you claim that everything that happened between the two of you was consensual and mutual?" Thompson proceeded

"Yes, of course! I'm not a monster! I love Lisa, I would _never_ hurt her!"

Reaching into the folder in his hands and removing a doctor's report, Thompson handed the papers to the judge.

"Well then, Mr. Chambers, would you like to explain why, upon examination, it was found that your wife has bruising in her pubic area consistent with rape and forced entry?"

"I ..."

"Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but if the sex had been consensual, then there would be no signs of forced entry, would there? Because _nothing_ about it would have been forced, now would it?" Thompson asked, smiling as John remained silent.

When John failed to reply, Thompson nodded "no further questions, your honour"

"The witness is excused" the Judge said as he examined the papers Thompson had handed him "I believe the prosecution has one final witness?"

Nodding, Thompson turned with a soft smile to the public "the prosecution calls Daniel Chambers to the stand"

* * *

Looking up at House, his eyes obviously terrified, Danny began to stand

"No!" Cuddy whispered to Thompson

"Lisa!" he whispered back as Danny walked up to him "you want John to go away for good, right?" Cuddy nodded "then let Daniel testify. I guarantee John won't be able to even set a foot outside this courtroom after Daniel speaks"

Not happy but convinced, Cuddy nodded

"Please state your name for the record" Thompson began smiling at Danny.

"Daniel Samuel Chambers" he replied in a low voice

"Could you speak up, please?" the Judge asked and Danny scooted forwards in his seat

"Daniel Samuel Chambers"

"Danny, can you tell me what happened to your arm?"

Receiving a reassuring nod from his mother, Danny nodded "I, uh, I tried to stop my dad hurting uncle Wilson and he, he, uh, threw me against the wall" Danny looked at the floor by Thompson's feet

"What was your uncle doing at your home that night, Daniel?"

"He ... uh" Danny looked at House "he was there to help my mom"

"Why did your mom need help?"

Clenching his jaw and hunching forwards a little, Daniel spoke into the microphone in an almost whisper "he hit her"

"Who did?"

"Dad"

"Had that ever happened before?" Thompson asked "had he ever hurt you, or your mother or sister before?"

Danny nodded

"Frequently?"

Again, the boy nodded "but he hit mom the most"

Cuddy's heart tightened in her chest as a tear slipped down her son's face.

"I could hear them, uh, fighting. At night. I couldn't do anything, I ... If I did ..."

"If you did, what? Daniel, what would happen if you tried to help your mom?" Thompson asked, his blood, much like House's in his seat, pumping hard through his body, his muscles wanting nothing more than to pound John Chambers.

"He'd hit me, or kick me, or ... or hurt Becca ..." he sniffed, hating that he was crying but unable to stop the tears, the truth was, he _was_ scared.

"Do you think your dad could do that to you again, Danny? If you were all to go back home now?"

Danny nodded.

"No further questions, your honour"

"Defence?"

Looking up from his notes, Klein shook his head and Thompson smiled knowing he had won. No lawyer, not even a scum bag like Klein would torture a child with questions best left unanswered. Klein knew he was stuck, his version of the events hadn't taken, and, with Danny's words, his tears and everything else that had happened, John would be lucky if he only got 25 years. Very lucky.

"If there are no more witnesses, court will recess and reconvene in three hours" the judge banged his gavel

* * *

As everyone began to file out of the room, House remained seated, his arm on Becca's small shoulder as she shook with sobs, her head on Wilson's arm. As the child next to him began to slowly calm down, House's eyes remained fixed on Cuddy, and he watched as Danny ran from the stand into her arms, both of them ignoring John's calls as he was escorted out of the court room.

**TBC**

* * *

_And there you have it, John's loooooong awaited testimony ...  
Once again, sorry for the wait and I hope to hear from any of you who are still there._

_xo_

**Thank you for reading!**

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**CJS-DEPPendent**


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